AGFACOLOR
Ultra (additive) and Neu (subtractive) Reversal FilmsPrior to the launch
of the 'subtractive' Agfacolor Neu colour reversal (transparency)
film (see following paragraphs), Agfa had marketed (since 1932)
'additive' colour film. This was similar to Dufaycolor film, producing a positive transparency.
The film was processed in black and white reversal chemicals
and had a 'reseau' type colour screen within its construction
in order to provide the image colour when viewed by transmitted
light. According to an Agfa price list of May 1934, it was available
in roll film, flat film, and film packs.

There were two types of Agfacolor
additive 'reseau' films. One, Agfa Color film, dates from 1932,
and the other, Agfacolor Ultra, a faster film, dates from 1934.
Both these films were derived from Agfa Color glass plates, which
were sold in Germany as long ago as 1916.

Agfa did manufacture a 35mm
film in 1933, but this was a Lenticular film, specifically for
Leica cameras. The film had minute lenses incorporated into the
film base, and transparencies were viewed with a Leitz projector
fitted with a three band colour filter. The process was mainly
used for cinematography and saw little use in still photography.
It was similar to the earliest 'Kodacolor',
a 16mm version for home movies made by Kodak in 1928.

When Agfacolor Neu
reversal film first made its appearance in 1936,
it proved that a multi-layer colour film could be manufactured
with the colour couplers incorporated into three separate emulsion
layers coated onto a single 'support' and that this arrangement
could be processed in a single colour developer. It was processed
with a first developer and then the colour developer. It was
available in Germany as 35mm 36 exposure film and by late
in the 1930s it also became available in the U.K. The British
Journal Almanac of 1938 gives a short review on Agfacolor Neu
film and suggested it should best be exposed at 14 Scheiner in
daylight (about 2ASA / ISO !), although Agfa quoted a speed of
17 Scheiner (4ASA). It cost 6 shillings (30p) for a cassette
of 36 exposures including processing (1937 price). Processing
was done by Agfa. In the 1930s Agfa had an address in Lawrence
St, St. Giles High St, London, WC2, but its uncertain whether
'Neu' films were processed there.

Agfacolor Neu film could be
purchased in Germany as from 1936, and it was likely that Agfa
had a processing laboratory in Berlin. As far as Michael Talbert
has been able to ascertain, the film price included the cost
of processing. There is an address for Agfa in Berlin in the
1930s: I.G. FarbenIndustrie Aktiengesellschaft / Agfa, Berlin
SO 36.
But Saskia Bormann has e-mailed (December 2014) from Braunschweig
(home of Rollei and Voigtländer) to tell me that Berlin
SO 36 is not an exact address. It's short for Süd-Ost (South
East) + the number of its post office (in this case 36, which
relates to a whole city district, mainly Kreuzberg).

It is possible that the price
of the film was subsidized by the Nazi government in the late
1930s, paid for by wage freezes and higher taxes, thus making
the film an affordable purchase for the average German worker.
The film was also known as Agfacolor 111.

Agfacolor Neu film was sold
in the UK before World War 2. The price of a 36 exposure
cassette of Agfacolor Neu 35mm film in 1937 was 6 shillings
(30p), and this cost included the processing. Kodachrome film
was much more expensive. The price of an 18 exposure cassette
of Kodachrome 35mm film, including processing, in 1937, was 12 shillings
and sixpence (about 62p). Kodachrome film at that time was available
in Regular (Daylight type) and Type A (for Photoflood lighting.)
Agfacolor Neu film was only available in Daylight type only.

When the Agfa processing plant
in the UK shut down in 1939, there was still a considerable amount
of unexposed unsold Agfacolor Neu film in the camera shops and
photographic dealers stocks. Some enterprising amateur photographers,
who also had some knowledge of photographic chemistry, made up
their own processing solutions for processing Agfacolor Neu film,
gaining information from Agfa patents. Sometimes the processing
formulae were published in various U.K. photographic magazines.

The Intermediate bath (step
3) was a rinse in Wetting Agent to ensure that water flowed off
the film evenly leaving no tear marks. Marks left
on the film during the Re-Exposure (step 4) sometimes caused
stains when the film was colour developed. As far as the author
knows, there was no Stabilizer, or Anti-Fade"
bath before final drying (step 13).

Wilhelm Lange, an archivist
at the National Archives of Norway, department of private archives,
was recentley (February 2012) given a collection of pre-war photographs.
He says "94 of these are colour slides, many taken in Berlin
on May 1 1937, the rest mainly summer holiday photos from Norway
from the same year. These are the oldest colour photographs that
the National Archives own. The Agfacolor Neu colour slide pictures
are in the Thomas Neumann archive: http://www.flickr.com/photos/national_archives_of_norway/sets/72157629888217042/
with English text. Some of the texts may be inaccurate.

"A selection of the photographs
was printed out in large format and displayed in our vestibule.
For the opening we had a historian to comment on facts behind
the photos for a small crowd of invited people and others who
dropped by. Among them were Neumanns daughter who was born
after the war and knew very little about her fathers early
political exploits. Also a son and daughter of J.B. Hjort came
 the man who was really in the centre of developing the
Norwegian National-Socialist party from 1933, but was kicked
out with Neumann in 1937. Like many children, the Hjort children
were in opposition to their fathers politics  she
to the point that she was later given a knighthood for her war-time
activities."

AGFACOLOR
Motion Picture Negative Films, Types B2 and G2, 1939 to 1945A multi-layer colour
coupler type negative film (type B2 balanced for daylight
and type G2 balanced for artificial light), was announced by
Agfa (probably to the German film industry, U.F.A; for a Wikipedia definitionsee below) in 1937.
It was a 35mm film, designed for motion picture use, as the German
Film industry already had much experience in, and the necessary
equipment for, processing and printing large quantities of 35mm
black and white film to a high standard. The first colour
prints to be made from a multi-layer colour development negative
film were printed onto an equivalent positive film, not paper.
This positive (print) film was announced at the same time as
the negative film stock. These negative & positive films
were not manufactured in any quantity until 1939. The negative
and positive films were certainly not on sale to the German public.

At the beginning of WW.2, U.F.A.
and other film studios in Germany were instructed by the German
Propaganda Ministry, (Joseph Goebbels), to make several full length
feature films using the new Agfacolor negative / positive films.
At that time U.F.A. did not consider the new Agfacolor films
were sufficiently technically advanced to do this, but they went
ahead and made about 13 films, (some unfinished) during the war
to 1945. Two types of negative film were available, Type B for
daylight, type G for artificial light. The films were processed
and printed using modified black and white equipment but owing
to wartime conditions, some of the release prints were inferior.
It was generally agreed that Die Fledermous showed
the best colour quality. The processing procedure for Agfacolor
negative film changed little over the next 30 years.

After 1940, all research and
development was done under the approval of the German Government.
Some work was carried out on a special soft gradation reversal
film for the production of duplicate negatives (negatives from
negatives), but the film was only used for the duplication of
short sections, spliced in with the original colour negative.

In all cases, the original
colour negative film which had been exposed in the camera and
suitably edited, was used to make the release prints, and no
duplicate negatives were ever made for the printing of a complete
film. A number of the feature films made were never released
to German audiences, either because the films were never completed
by 1945, or were considered unsuitable for showing to the German
public.

The Agfacolor Motion Picture
Negative films were panchromatic films coated with three emulsion
layers, one sensitive to red light, one to green light, and one
to blue light. Originally, when the negative films were first
manufactured in 1939, the film speed was 10/10 degrees DIN, corresponding
to about 6 ASA (ISO). A year later, one source claims this speed
had increased to 16/10 degrees DIN, or roughly 25 ASA (ISO).
As far as Michael has been able to find out, this claimed high
speed applied to both types of film. However, another source
states that, in 1945, the film speed was 14/10 degrees DIN, around
12 to 16 ASA (ISO). This is much more likely to be true, as this
corresponds to the speed of the Agfacolor Negative films for
still photography, CNT and CNK, introduced in 1949.

The Agfacolor Motion Picture
Negative films were similar in structure to the very early Kodacolor
films, but Agfacolor film employed a different type of colour
coupler.

The Red sensitive emulsion
layer was coated on top of the Nitrate base of the film. This
layer contained the Cyan dye coupler which, on development, produced
a negative cyan dye image in the exposed areas. A Green sensitive
emulsion layer was coated on top of the red layer, incorporating
a Magenta dye coupler, producing a negative magenta dye image
on development.

Because both the red and green
emulsions were also sensitive to blue light, a yellow filter
layer was coated on top of the green layer, preventing any blue
light from reaching the bottom two emulsions. The final emulsion
to be coated on the film was the Blue sensitive layer on top
of the yellow filter. This contained a Yellow coupler, which
on development, produced a negative yellow dye image.

An anti-halation backing was
applied to the base of the film containing a blue-green dye.
The backing dissolved in the development step.

The Nitrate film base, which
was not Safety Film, was the same base as used for
black and white motion picture films.

The yellow filter layer consisted
of colloidal silver in gelatin, which was removed from the film
in the Bleach bath in the processing sequence.

The red and green sensitive
layers each consisted of a similar emulsion to the Agfa black
and white film, Isopan F. The Isopan F film was a black and white
panchromatic negative film with a speed of 40 ASA (ISO). The
blue sensitive layer was a positive film emulsion, sensitized
for blue light only, not panchromatic.

No masking layers were incorporated
in the negative films, nor did the colour couplers generate a
coloured mask. No form of masking for contrast correction was
ever used in the printing of the negative film.

As far as Michael Talbert has
been able to ascertain, the exposure latitude of the Agfacolor
Negative Motion Picture film was about one stop, although this
is very likely to mean one stop over-exposure. Over-exposed negatives
would require increased printing time. Under exposed negatives
caused thin shadows with no detail, low contrast, and poor blacks
in the positive release prints.

Processing
AGFACOLOR Motion Picture Negative FilmProcessing of the film
was done in sprocket driven continuous machines, the film being
processed at 9 to 15 feet a minute. Modified processing machines
were used, originally intended for black and white films. They
used stainless steel or glass tanks for the solutions. The processing
room temperature was kept at around 20°C/68°F, as the
processing solutions were used at 18°C/64°F.

First three steps
in total darkness, or under a Green safelight (possibly Agfa
Safelight filter No.170, very dark green.)

1. Colour Developer

6 minutes

The film was then
wiped with rubber squeegees, before going into the following
wash.The film was spray
washed after the development step, but a fast circulating wash
was also effective.
It is possible that a certain amount of after development
took place in this first wash from traces of active developer
remaining in the film.

2. Wash.

15 Minutes

3. Bleach.

3 - 5 minutes

The rest of the
processing could take place in White light.

4. Wash. This
was spray washing or fast circulating water.

5 minutes.

5. Fixer

5 minutes.

6. Spray wash

20 minutes.

7. Dry

It is possible
that the films were rinsed in a Wetting Agent, maybe Agfa
Agepon, before drying.

AGFACOLOR
Positive Motion Picture FilmThe Agfacolor Positive
Film was a colour sensitive 35mm film used for making release
prints from both types of Agfacolor Negative Motion Picture films.
It was sensitized for 3,000°K tungsten lamps and had a slightly
higher printing speed than the equivalent black and white positive
printing material. On processing, it produced a colour transparency,
but was not a reversal material, and the processing of it was
similar to the Agfacolor negative film. It was not suitable for
camera use.

The structure of the film was
similar to the Agfacolor negative film, having the same layer
order. The bottom two layers were each made up of an Isopan
F film emulsion plus a Process film emulsion. (At that
time, Process film was a slow speed blue sensitive film of fairly
high contrast, mainly for use in Graphic Arts or for copying.)
The top layer was a black and white Process film type of emulsion,
sensitive to blue light, i.e. not panchromatic.

More variation in manufacture
was allowed for the Agfacolor positive film and batch variations
of up to one stop in speed were permissible. The different colour
characteristics of each batch could be filtered to a neutral
balance when printing.

Processing
AGFACOLOR Motion Picture Positive FilmAs far as Michael Talbert
has been able to ascertain, the processing of Agfacolor Positive
Motion Picture Film was carried out in the same machines as for
the Negative Film. The temperature for processing was 64°F/18°C.

Two processing
procedures were necessary,
one for Motion Picture Film with no sound track and the other
for Motion Picture Film with an optical sound track. Magnetic
sound tracks were not invented until 1953.

Processing
Procedure for Motion Picture Positive Film with no sound track.

Processing solutions
used at 64°F/18°C. Total Darkness or Safelight.

1. Colour Developer

10 to 11 minutes

2. Short Stop
Bath (10% solution of mono potassium phosphate)

2 Minutes

3. Spray Wash

15 minutes

The rest of the
processing could take place in White light.

4. Bleach (ordinary)
also removes yellow filter layer.

3 to 5 minutes

5. Wash.

3 to 5 minutes.

6. Fixer

5 minutes.

7. Final Spray
wash

20 minutes.

8. Dry.

It is possible
that the films were rinsed in a Wetting Agent, maybe Agfa
Agepon, before drying.

Processing
Procedure for Motion Picture Positive Film with an optical sound
track.

It is possible
that the films were rinsed in a Wetting Agent, maybe Agfa
Agepon, before drying.

Notes.

Both processes used a Stop
Bath, (step 2), to prevent any after development
taking place in the following wash. Any development in the wash
may have caused a slight veiling or fog in the highlights of
the print so development had to be stopped abruptly. With regards
to the Negative film process, an increase in density in the shadow
areas due to developer carry-over, was not unfavourable.

As far as is known, the ordinary
Bleach bath was used for films without an optical sound track.
The optical sound track was printed onto the Colour Positive
Film from a Black and White Sound Negative, exposed through a
blue filter. The film was bleached in the Highly Viscous
Bleaching solution for 3 to 5 minutes, the bleaching solution
sprayed onto the picture area of the film only, leaving the sound
track unaffected. All silver halide from the picture area was
then removed in the fixing bath, leaving the exposed silver halide
in the black and white sound track area.

The Sulphite Bath destroyed
the Bleach action, preventing any bleach remaining in the film
acting on the film in the following wash.

A Safelight was permissible
for the first three steps of processing. The Positive film could
be handled and processed under a safelight fitted with an Agfa
No.166 filter, Olive-Green, for as long as 30 minutes. In the
mid-1960's this filter became known as No.09.

As with the Negative film,
it was likely that the Positive film was rinsed in a wetting
agent before drying. As far as is known, no Stabilizer, Anti-fade,
or any type of Hardening bath was applied to the film before
drying.

During 1944/45 Agfacolor Motion
Picture film was being processed at the UFA laboratories at Kopenick,
South Eastern Berlin. After 1945, it was included in the Soviet
sector of East Berlin. Processing and printing was also carried
out at the UFA studios at Neu Babelsberg, then the capital city
of the German state of Brandenberg. Most of the feature films
using Agfacolor materials during WWII were produced at the UFA
Neu Babelsberg studios.

Printing
AGFACOLOR Negative Motion Picture Film onto Motion Picture Positive
FilmPrinting was done by
tungsten illumination on De Brie printing machines which were,
as far as Michael Talbert can ascertain, were originally used
for black and white release prints. It seems the intensity of
the printing light was altered by means of a paper ribbon over
the light source in which round holes were punched at different
apertures. It was also necessary to change the colour of the
printing light to correct for:

Differences in colour balance
in the original scene being photographed.

Batch manufacturing differences
of the positive material

The colour of the printing
light

Irregular processing of the
negative film

AGFACOLOR
Printing Filters for Colour CorrectionThe printing filters
used on the De Brie machines were made in the three subtractive
colours, yellow, magenta, and blue-green. (Blue-green was later
termed as Cyan. it was actually known as Blue-Green to begin
with, possibly because it was translated from the German 
Blaugrun).

The purpose of the coloured
filters was to change the colour of the printing light to correct
for any tints or colour casts in the positive print, this being
a transparent print on 35mm positive film. The filters were made
in different depths or densities of colour. The highest density
filter in each colour was numbered 100 strength, and the other
filters were numbered in densities of 10, decreasing from 100,
the lowest density being 10. Therefore a set of colour
filters would consist of 10,20, 30, 40, etc Yellow in increasing
strength up to 100, 10 Magenta in the same values, and 10 Blue-Green,
in the same values. The whole set comprised of 30 filters.

The value of the filters could
be added together, 160 Magenta would be made up as, 100, 50 and
10.

Obviously, when printing on
a large scale, it was very important to keep records of the filtrations
used when printing each batch of negative film. A simple system
of designation was used to indicate the filter combination of
any print. All filter combinations, using numbered values, were
written in the order of Yellow, Magenta, Blue-green (Cyan). This
sequence was chosen as it related to the same sequence as the
order of the layers coated on Agfacolor negative film. A filter
correction of a 70 strength Yellow filter and a 40 strength Magenta
filter with no Blue-Green filters was written as 70 40 00.

A filter correction of a 30
strength Magenta filter and a 60 strength Blue-Green filter and
no Yellow filters was written 00 30 60. One filter could be used
on its own, so e.g. a 50 strength Magenta filter would
be written 00 50 00.

There was no need for all three
filters to be used as a correction because three filters superimposed
on top of one another would make a neutral density or grey. In
other words, if all three colour filters were of the same strength,
they would cancel each other out and would not alter the colour
of the print.

A filter combination of 20
Yellow, 50 Magenta and 70 Blue-Green, would contain 20 neutral
density. Therefore, if a value of 20 was subtracted from
each filter the Yellow value would become 00 and this would cancel
out the neutral density, or grey value, leaving a
filter combination of 00 30 50.

The colour correction filters
were stapled over the paper ribbon aperture holes to adjust the
colour balance and produce a neutral print.

Residual colour casts in the
printed, positive, film were removed by using a filter over the
projection light source. In this case, the filter would be the
same colour as the colour cast. If a print appeared too Yellow,
or Magenta, or Blue-Green, it was corrected by placing a Yellow
filter, or a Magenta filter, or a Blue-Green filter in the light
source. A strong colour cast, one which could be seen very easily,
was corrected by an equally strong filter value, such as an 80
filter. A very slight tint which might not be noticed was filtered
out by a weak coloured filter, such as a 10 value. Red, Green
and Blue casts were dealt with by combining Yellow plus Magenta
to make a Red filter, Yellow and Blue-Green to make a Green filter
and Magenta and Blue-Green to make a Blue filter.

When printing the Colour Negative
Motion Picture film onto the corresponding Positive film several
test prints were made to find out the correct combination of
printing filters which give the best colour rendering. Usually,
coarse test prints were made with exposure variations
and filter values of 30 units apart. A coarse test
print would take into account any estimated casts of almost any
colour. The strength of the filters used were from 30 to 90 in
Yellow, Magenta, Blue-Green, Red, Green, and Blue; Red, Green
and Blue being a combination of filters, as explained above.

From this wide range of test
printing a fairly good indication of the correct colour balance
could be estimated. If the best colour in the coarse
test prints was estimated to be a print with the filters 00 60
60, (no Yellow filters, 60 Magenta filters, 60 Blue-Green filters),
and this test print had a Magenta colour cast of, say, 20 units,
another test print was exposed with the filter combination 00
80 60; i.e the Magenta value was increased to 80 to correct for
the magenta colour cast in the 'coarse' print. Other test prints
were also exposed at the same time varying the filtrations by
say, 10 or 20 units around 00 80 60 (00 80 80, 00 80 70, 00 70
50, and so on). This series of test prints would fine tune
the colour to hopefully arrive at an optimum colour balance and,
with it, an optimum filtration value which could be used to make
numerous release film prints.

AGFACOLOR
Positive Films for Still Photography ~ 1950A type of colour positive
film had been in use since 1940 for making positive release prints
from Agfacolor Motion Picture negative films (see above).

In 1950 Agfacolor Positive
film was introduced, for making colour transparencies directly
from Agfacolor negative films. It was obtainable in 35mm
lengths of 10, 25, and 50 metres and unperforated widths
of 2.34 inches in 15 metre lengths.

For making enlarged colour
transparencies from Agfacolor negatives the Colour Positive film
was available in quantities of 10 and 100 sheets of flat
film in various sizes similar to Agfacolor paper CN 111.

The film was balanced for exposure
to 3200°K lamps. An enlarger fitted with a filter draw or
an Agfacolor Head could be used to expose the film, altering
the colour balance of the transparency by means of separate colour
printing filters or the Agfacolor Head, in the same way as when
making colour prints on Agfacolor Paper.

The film could be handled for
about 3 minutes under a safelight fitted with an Agfacolor
Safelight filter No.166. The film was said to be around twice
as fast to light as the CN 111 paper and handling the film
for too long under the safelight caused a blue-green cast, mainly
in the high lights of the transparency.

In the early 1950s, Agfacolor
Mosaic filters could be used to find the correct colour balance
in exactly the same way as printing onto Agfacolor paper.

Agfacolor Positive Film ProcessingThis sequence for processing
Agfacolor Positive Film dates from 1950. The first five steps
were carried out under the No.166 safelight filter or in total
darkness.

Bath

Time
(Mins)

Tempratuure
°F

Total darkness

1. Colour Developer

11

64 +/- ½°F

2. Brief Rinse

20 seconds

57 - 68

3. Stop-Bath

3

60 - 68

4. First Wash

15

57 - 68

5. Bleach

5

60 - 68

In white light

6. Second Wash

5

57 - 68

7. Fixer

5

60 - 68

8. Final Wash

20 - 30

57 - 68

9. Agepon
Bath
(Wetting Agent Rinse)

½

60 - 68

10. Dry

Notes.

The processing chemicals and
solutions were exactly the same as for processing Agfacolor Negative
films apart from the Stop Bath. Agfacolor Positive Stop Bath
was available in 1 litre and 35 litre sizes, as one
chemical component which was dissolved in water to make a ready
for use solution.

A Magnesium Sulphate bath,
used immediately after the development step when processing Agfacolor
Negative films, does not appear necessary when processing Positive
film. It is possible a hardening action takes place
in the Stop-Bath, alleviating any problems of the film gelatine
being softened by the processing solutions.

In place of Step 9, the processed
transparencies could be treated in Agfacolor Anti-Fading solution
as used for Agfacolor paper. The Anti-Fading solution gave a
substantial increase in dye stability. Transparencies were given
5 minutes at 60  68°F in the solution, and then
dried without further washing.

By 1954, a Bleaching-Fixing Bath
took the place of the negative film separate Bleach and Fixer
solutions.

Agfacolor
Positive Film S
From the mid-1950s the Positive Film became known as Agfacolor
Positive Film S, and was balanced for unmasked
colour negatives.
From 1963, Positive Film M became
available, balanced for masked Agfacolor CN 17M film (see
below).

This sequence for processing
Positive Film S dates from around 1954.

Bath

Code

Time
(Mins)

Tempratuure
°F

No.166 safelight
filter or in total darkness

1.
Colour Developer

NPS1

11

65 +/- ½°F

2.
Brief Rinse

-

20 seconds

57 - 68

3.
Stop-Bath

P11

3

65 - 68

4.
First Wash

-

15

57 - 68

5.
Bleach Fixing Bath

PPa111

8 - 10

65 - 68

In white light

6.
Second Wash

-

5

57 - 68

7.
Special After Bath

PS1V

5

65 - 68

8.
Final Wash

-

20 - 30

57 - 68

9. Agepon Bath
(Wetting Agent Rinse)

OR Anti-fading Solution

PAV1

5

65 - 68

10. Dry

Notes.

The Colour Developer was the
only solution common to the Negative film process and the Positive
film process.

The Bleach Fixing Bath was
the same solution as used for Agfacolor papers.

The density of the cyan dye
was slightly reduced by the Bleach Fixing Bath. The purpose of
the Special After Bath was to restore the dye to its full
strength. Final transparency prints and test strips could only
be judged for colour balance after they had been treated in the
Special After bath.

At the end of the 1950s, the
above processing sequence changed slightly. The development time
was now given as 4 to 10 minutes, allowing some alteration in
the contrast of the transparencies, and an additional Agepon
rinse completed the sequence.

The following processing sequence
for Positive Film S dates from 1958.

Bath

Code

Time
(Mins)

Tempratuure
°F

Safelight Filter
No. 166, or total darkness

1.
Colour Developer

NPS 1

4 - 10

66 - 68

2.
Brief Rinse

-

20 - 30 seconds

55 - 68

3.
Stop-Bath

P 11 or PPa 11

3

65 - 68

4.
First Wash

-

15

55 - 68

5.
Bleach Fixing Bath

PPa 111

8

65 - 68

In white light

6.
Second Wash

-

5

55 - 68

7.
Special After Bath

PS 1V

5

65 - 68

8.
Final Wash

-

10 - 15

55 - 68

9.
Anti-Fade

Pa V1

5

65 - 68

10.
Agepon Bath
(Wetting Agent Rinse)

-

1 -2

65 - 68

11. Dry, at a
temperature of about 86°F

Notes.

The contrast of the final
transparency could be altered by adjusting the development time
from 4 minutes, to give a very soft contrast transparency, to
10 minutes, resulting in a hard contrast transparency. The time
of development usually depended on the contrast of the negative
being used to make the transparency. For normal contrast negatives,
the development time of the Positive film was about 7 minutes.

Either the Stop Bath for Agfacolor
Positive film (P 11), or the Stop Fix Bath for Agfacolor paper
(PPa 11 or the later PPa 11/A) could be used in the third step.
If the Stop Fix Bath for paper was used, processing could continue
in white light after the Stop Fix Bath.

A further
processing sequence for Positive Film S dating from 1962 with
minor changes

Bath

Code

Time
(Mins)

Tempratuure
°F

Safelight Filter
No. 166, or total darkness

1.
Colour Developer

NPS 1

4 - 10

67 - 69

2.
Brief Rinse

-

15 seconds

57 - 68

3.
Stop-Fix Bath

PPa 11 or
PPa 11/A

8

64 - 68

Remaining steps
can be done in white light.

4.
First Wash

-

2

57 - 68

5.
Bleach Fixing Bath

PPa 111

8

64 - 68

6.
Second Wash

-

5

57 - 68

7.
Special After Bath

PS 1V

5

64 - 68

8.
Final Wash

-

10

57 - 68

9.
Agepon Bath (with Formalin)

-

1

64 - 68

11. Dry, at a
temperature of about 86°F

Notes.

The contrast of the final
transparency could be altered by adjusting the development time,
as in the 1958 sequence.

The Agepon Bath
was made up as a 5% solution with water, (50ccs to 1 litre),
plus the addition of 15ccs of 30% Formalin per litre. This replaced
the Anti Fade bath.

A green cast in the unexposed
borders of transparencies could be eliminated by a longer time
in the Stop Fix Bath and the following wash step.

For Positive Film S, and in
later processing sequences for Positive Film M, only the Stop
Fix Bath coded PPa II and the Bleach Fix Bath coded PPa III could
be used. The Stop Fix and Bleach Fix baths for the short Agfacolor
paper processing sequences, (last code letter K), were not suitable
for processing Positive Films.

Agfacolor
Positive Film MAgfa introduced Positive
Film M in 1963 for making transparences from masked
colour negatives, such as Agfacolor CN 17M film, and
any other masked colour negative films, including the Kodak range
of colour negative materials.

The sensitivity of Positive
Film M was similar to Agfacolor MCN III paper, having a very
high sensitivity to blue light and an increased sensitivity to
green light, compared with Positive Film S or Agfacolor paper
CN III. It could be handled for a limited time under the Agfacolor
Safelight filter No.166M, later known as Agfacolor Safelight
filter No.08.

Positive Film M could be processed
in exactly the same sequence as Positive Film S, following the
1962 processing sequence (above).

In the mid 1960s, Positive
Film M replaced Positive Film S, and by 1967 Positive Film S
was no longer available.

A 1971 processing sequence,
printed within the instruction sheet for Positive Film M that
was enclosed in the film boxes, gave 8 minutes as the standard
development time at 68F +/- 0.4°F. The time of development
could be altered from 6 minutes to 10 minutes for changes
in brilliance and contrast.

On a personal note, the author
made some transparencies on Positive Film M in 1975. He does
remember that compared with Agfacolor MCN III type 4 paper (being
the paper in use at that time), the Positive film was extremely
slow and occasional very large transparencies required exposure
times of over one minute. The base of the film was very thick,
much thicker than Kodak Ektacolor Print film, which made it difficult
to handle in the dark. Positive Film M had a slightly shorter
processing time of 47 minutes, compared with Ektacolor Print
Film's time of 50 minutes.
The author thought the colour rendering was not as good as Ektacolor
Print Film.

AGFACOLOR Negative Films for Still
Photography ~ 1949 (1951 in the UK)

In the early years of World
War II, much experimental work was done by Agfa on a process
for making colour prints on paper. By 1942, Agfacolor
Paper was available for making prints from Agfacolor negative
motion picture film.

It was originally decided by
Agfa to release the negative/positive process to the general
public as soon as World War II was over in Europe. But in 1945,
production of film and paper had ceased at the Wolfen plant because
of lack of basic raw materials and the collapse of Germany. Also,
by then, the patents for the Agfacolor process became available
to other photographic material manufacturers, such as Gevaert
and Ferrania. Later on, both companies marketed colour negative/positive
processes very similar to Agfacolor. The experimental paper,
and some quantities of it, were originally made at Wolfen, but
by 1949, both film and paper production had moved to Agfas
Leverkusen plant, although Wolfen continued to make colour film,
later known as Orwo.

In January 1949, Agfacolor
film was made available to the general public, and the first
colour processing laboratories for processing and printing Agfacolor
negative film were set up in Germany. As far as Michael Talbert
is aware, Agfacolor negative film was first sold in the U.K.
in July 1951.

By June 1951, four
processing laboratories had been established in the U.K.
At that time, Kodacolor film was not sold in the U.K; the only
Kodak film obtainable to the amateur photographer was the transparency
slide and movie film called Kodachrome. Ektachrome film was accessible
to the professional photographer in limited quantities. Colour
prints could be made by the assembly processes, such
as Kodak Dye Transfer, Trichrome Carbro, or Duxochrome. Prints
from these processes were very costly and were used mainly by
professional advertising photographers, not by amateur photographers.

AGFACOLOR
Negative Film Type T
This film was for taking photographs in daylight. It was balanced
for a colour temperature of 5500°K, with an average exposure
of 1/50th sec. at f5.6 in hazy conditions, or cloudy bright weather.

Its speed was 10 to 12
ASA(ISO) and it was recommended to find the correct exposure
with an exposure meter; in 1951, the Agfa meter was the Lucimeter.
The instruction sheet for Agfacolor Type T film suggests making
three exposures of the same subject, one at the exposure setting
given by the meter, then one exposure at one stop less than the
meter reading, and another at one stop more than the meter reading.
The best exposure was then selected and with it the correct film
speed for that particular camera/exposure meter combination.

AGFACOLOR
Negative Film Type K
This film was for taking photographs in artificial light, its
colour sensitivity adjusted to 3200°K. It was mainly for
studio photography using tungsten, photoflood, clear flashbulbs,
or even flashpowder. The colour temperature of these light sources
would vary, but were close enough for colour corrections to be
made in the printing procedure.

Film speed was 10 to 12 ASA(ISO).
With two lamps 4 feet away from the subject, exposures were around
1 second at f5.6. Pictures could also be taken under ordinary
room lights, at exposure times of about 3 seconds at f4.

It was not possible to achieve
a neutral balanced print with daylight and tungsten lighting
illuminating the same subject, and prints made from negatives
made in this way showed varying blue to yellow colour casts on
the same print.

Colour filters were not recommended
when exposing either type of negative film with the exception
of an almost colourless Ultra Violet (UV) filter, Agfa No.K29C.

Colour casts due to varying
colour temperatures of the lighting were corrected by printing
filters and no colour compensating filters, such as the Kodak
range of Light Balancing filters, or other makes, were advised.

Film
Sizes Available
Best that Michael can ascertain, Agfacolor Daylight Negative
film, Type T, was for sale in June 1951 in the following sizes:

B 2/8 Roll Films, this was
120 size;

35mm film in 36 exposures
for Contax, Ried, and Leica cameras plus others;

Karat 12 exposure film (this film system was an Agfa
patented arrangement which used a cassette similar to that used
for 35mm film, but the film was wound from one cassette into
another cassette after exposure. No rewinding of the film was
necessary).

Flat (sheet) film was available
in various formats, possibly 3½ x 2½ins to ½
plate (6½ x 4¾ins). But note that 5 x 4ins sheet
film does not seem to have been available, even though this format
was very common in the U.K. at that time, and was also made in
glass plates. Its possible the reason this size was omitted maybe
because it was not a continental size. According
to early advertisements, the flat film appears to have been packed
in boxes of 10 sheets.

Flat film was also made in
Type K artificial light film, but its unknown whether Type K
film was marketed in any other format.
Flat film was notched, one notch for Type T, and
two notches for Type K.

AGFACOLOR
Negative Film Processing Type T and KAgfacolor negative
film for still photography was processed in much the same way
as the Motion Picture film equivalent (see above). The first
solution, a colour developer, formed the complementary colours
in each of the three colour sensitive layers of the film. Unlike
the Kodacolor film of that time, there was no orange colour correcting
mask formed in the development step. Processed negatives, when
viewed, took on a magenta cast. The yellow dyes and the blue-green
dyes in the negative could not be seen easily because they were
formed in the Ultra Violet (yellow) and the Infra Red (blue-green)
regions of the negative film. As the human eye is insensitive
to ultra violet and infra red light, the negatives looked magenta.
Shifting the absorption of the yellow and blue-green dyes away
from the magenta dye improves the saturation of the colours in
the printing paper as it ensures the three colour dyes in the
negative film do not overlap.

Only three solutions were used
to process Agfacolor negative film  Colour developer, Bleach,
and Fixer. When freshly mixed, the colour developer could not
be used for 12 hours, as the chemicals were possibly too active
and would produce negatives with too much contrast if used immediately.

The three processing solutions
were sold in packages to make either 1 litre or 35 litres of
solution when made up.

Solution

Time

Temperature

Colour
Developer

6
Minutes

64°F
(17.8°C)

Wash

15
Minutes

see
below

Bleach

5
Minutes

60
 68°F (15-20°C)

Wash

5
Minutes

see
below

Fixer

5
Minutes

60
 68°F (15-20°C)

Wash

20
 30 Minutes

see
below

Notes

The processing times in the
table are the minimum times except for the colour developer,
which had to be kept to 6 minutes. Other solutions and wash times
could be increased slightly without detrimental effect.

A safe light could be used,
such as an Agfa No.170 (very dark green). It was possible to
work in White Light  after the Bleach step.

Where tap water was termed
soft, the change in temperature as the film was transferred
from the colour developer to the first wash could cause reticulation
of the emulsion layers, or in worse cases, the gelatin dissolving
into the wash water. To prevent this from happening, the films
were bathed in a 2% Magnesium Sulphate solution for two to three
minutes before the long wash.

It was advisable to treat
the films in a solution of Wetting Agent for 1 minute after the
final wash before drying e.g Agfa Agepon wetting agent. Drying
temperature was about 86°F (30°C)

Development Times. Longer
development times were suggested if the subject matter consisted
of paintings or advertising subjects, when development times
of up to 9 minutes could be given. In 1952, a Hard
grade Agfacolor printing paper became available, thus extending
the contrast range of Agfacolor prints.

Processed negative films could
be treated with Agfa Film Lacquer to prevent scratches to the
film's bare or emulsion sides.

A certain amount of after
development  took place in the first wash, mainly in the
shadow areas of the negative.

Wash water temperature was
13°C to 21°C (57°F to 70°F)

The Colour Developer temperature
had to be kept within the limits of ½degree F or ¼degree
C throughout development.

Agfacolor CN 17 Universal Colour Negative
Film ~ 1956

A box of 10 sheets
of CN-17 film, 4"x5", dating from 1968. Expiry date
is November 1969.

A new Agfacolor Negative film,
CN 17 was introduced in 1956. This film replaced the earlier
Agfacolor types T and K films (see above).
Agfacolor CN 17 universal film was balanced for use in daylight
and artificial light, corresponding to colour temperatures of
about 2500°K to 6500°K, as long as the lighting was not
of a mixed colour temperature. Therefore it was possible to expose
the film by the light of blue or clear flashbulbs, daylight,
photoflood, or tungsten light. The different colour balances
in negatives, caused by the different types of lighting, was
corrected in the printing operation.

CN 17 film had a speed
rating of 40 ASA, (ISO), or 17 DIN (German Speed rating). In
1956, it was one of the fastest colour negative films available,
a distinction it shared with Pakolor PK-24 film, also rated at
40 ASA. The average exposure in daylight was approximately 1/125
at f5.6.

As the film had no orange colour
correcting mask, it was easy to make good black and white prints
from the negatives.

Processing followed the same
procedure as with the previous Agfacolor negative films, but
the development time was slightly longer with the new film.

Agfacolor CN 17 Universal
film was first sold in rollfilm sizes 120, 620, and 127, Karat
cassettes of 12 exposures, and 35mm cassettes of 20 exposures.
Later, 35mm cassettes of 12 and 36 exposures were available.
Many sizes of sheet film were obtainable, including a 4inch by
5inch format (see picture).

Despite new films
being introduced during the 1960s (see below), the original unmasked
Agfacolor CN 17 Universal film remained on the market until
the end of the 1960s. By then the printing paper for unmasked
negatives was no longed being manufactured (Agfacolor CN 111),
but good prints could be made on Agfacolor paper MCN 111
and later versions of it, by incorporating an unexposed but processed
piece of Kodak Ektacolor sheet film or Kodacolor rollfilm with
the printing filters, or even with the negative itself, when
making prints on Agfacolor MCN papers. This alleviated the very
high yellow and magenta filtration values necessary when printing
an unmasked negative onto a paper intended for use with masked
colour negatives.

Two cartons of
Agfacolor CN 17 35mm films, each of 20 exposures with
a Develop Before date of March 1970. Universal
meant that the films were suitable for exposing in Daylight or
Artificial light, corrections for colour balance being made at
the printing stage.

On a personal
note, the author first used CN-17 Universal film in 1968, and
was processing the film and making prints from it in 1969. In
1970, he remembers taking pictures on several out-dated rolls
of 120 CN-17 Universal film, as by then in-date film was unobtainable,
CN-17 Universal having been replaced by Agfacolor CNS (see below).

Amateur
Processing of Agfacolor Films, from 1958Official Agfacolor
chemicals and printing materials had been available in the UK
since 1952, but were not sold to Amateur photographers unless
they had attended a course of instruction at the Agfacolor School
(see above, International School
of Colour Photography).

In 1958, the processing and
printing of Agfacolor materials had become straightforward and
reliable enough for Agfa to release the processing chemicals
and Agfacolor paper for sale to the general public without the
need for attendance at an approved Agfacolor School. Packs of
1 litre chemicals for processing Agfacolor negative material
and Agfacolor paper, plus various sizes and quantities of Agfacolor
paper, became available for sale to the Amateur photographer.

For processing negative films,
the Colour developer, Bleaching bath, and Fixing bath were made
up from powders to be mixed with water. A liquid colour developer,
especially suitable for processing Agfacolor CN-17 films in the
Agfa Rondinax developing tanks was marketed
as an alternative to the usual 1 litre powder developer pack.
The liquid developer could be diluted to suit the capacity of
the Rondinax developing tank being used, and the developing time
varied according to the dilution. CN-17 film was developed for
7 minutes at a 300ccs total dilution (stock solution of developer
plus water), extending to 13 minutes at a total dilution of 700
ccs.

A fourth solution, the Magnesium
Sulphate bath, was necessary for the processing of Agfacolor
negative film. This was user make-up, and consisted
of 3% Magnesium Sulphate, or 30 grams per litre. It was also
advised by Agfa to add 30ccs of freshly prepared developer to
each litre of Magnesium Sulphate bath.

Bath

Code

Time
(Mins)

Tempratuure
°C

Total darkness

Either:

1. Agfacolor Film
Developer S

NPS1/A

7

20

or

1a. Agfacolor
Film Developer F

NPF1/A

7  13
to suit dilution for capacity of tank
(300cc to 700cc, see above)

20

2. Magnesium Sulphate
Bath

----

2

18  20

3. Wash

---

15

14  20

4. Bleach

NP11/A

5

18  20

In white light

5. Wash

---

5

14  20

6. Fixer

NP111/A

5

18  20

7. Wash

---

20

14  20

8. Agepon
bath
(Wetting Agent Rinse)

---

½

14  20

Drying

This negative process differs
little from the 1950 negative processing sequence apart from
the fact that the Magnesium Sulphate bath was now considered
an essential part of the processing procedure.

Notes.

The development temperature
latitude was + or  ¼ a degree C, or ½ a degree
F throughout the time of development. This applied to both powder
and liquid developers.

The development time could
be increased by up to 25% to increase the contrast if the subject
matter had been exposed by electronic flash.

Maximum drying temperature
for the films was 30°C or 86°F.

Total darkness was recommended
for loading roll films into spirals and sheet films into hangers
but, if necessary, an Agfa safelight filter No. 170 could be
used to provide darkroom illumination. Darkroom safelight filters
for panchromatic black and white materials, such as Kodak Wratten
Series 3, or Ilford safelight filters Nos. 907 or 908 were not
suitable.

When the films had been in
the Bleach bath for about 2 minutes, white lights could be turned
on.

Apart from the development
time, the times given in the table are the minimum times. Films
could be left in the solutions and wash water slightly longer
without coming to any harm. The wash after the Magnesium Sulphate
bath could be increased to 20 minutes without any detrimental
effect on the films.

Agfacolor
CN-17M ~ 1963In 1963, an orange
masked version of CN-17 film was produced in sheet film format
only, known as CN-17M, but it was short lived and was withdrawn
from the market a year later. It had a film speed of 40 ASA (ISO).

Agfacolor
CN-17 Special Colour Negative Film ~ 1966

An
improved type of masked film was introduced in 1966, called Agfacolor
CN 17S" (S for Special), with a film speed of 40 ASA
(ISO). This film was available in roll film sizes, 35mm cassettes
of 12 and 20 exposures, and Agfa Rapid cassettes.
Amateur Photographer magazine for 3rd April 1966 carried an Agfa-Gevaert
double page colour spread advertisement for Agfacolor CN17 Special
Film. It contained pictures taken by Kevin McDonnell "well-known photographer,
journalist and broadcaster". Click
here to see that advertisment. "Agfacolor CN17
Special is a brilliant new double masked colour negative film
specially made for today's most creative and critical amateur
photographers. even if you're a reversal film addict, you'll
be amazed at the superior quality of colour enlargements you
get from Agfacolor CN17 Special. Buy a roll now, from your Agfa-Geveart
dealer (from 8s/6d = 43p). Double masked for purer, brighter
colours. Speed 17DIN/40ASA. Extra fine grain and high definition.
Better colour separation and reproduction. Very wide exposure
latitude." Note that Agfa advertised "Welcome
News for Darkroom Devotees - New Agfacolor CN17 Special can be
home processed...."

CN-17S film is listed in the
British Journal of Photography Annual (BJPA) for 1968 under Colour
Materials for Still Photography. In the column Sizes
Available, the BJ gives a sheet film format
for CN-17S. However, Michael thinks this maybe a mistake, as
he can find no other reference to a CN-17S sheet film in any
other of his historical Agfa or Agfa-Gevaert records.

Agfacolor
CN S ~ 1968
(Colour Negative Special) film was introduced about May 1968
as a replacement for CN 17S. CN S was obtainable in the
usual roll film sizes, 35mm in 20 and 36 exposure cassettes,
Rapid cassettes of 16 exposures, and PAK
film cassettes of 12 and 20 exposures. Pak film was
equivalent to 126 size cartridges, suitable for the Kodak range
of Instamatic cameras, plus other cameras designed
to take 126 size film. Agfacolor CN S film had a speed of
80 ASA (ISO), which at that time matched the speed of Kodacolor
X film. As far as is known, Agfacolor CN S film was never
made in any sheet film formats.

Agfacolor CN S film gave
a better colour reproduction than CN 17 Universal because
it had an integral double colour mask (see below).

Two announcements of the new
Agfacolor CN S colour negative film appeared in Photography
magazine, the June 1968 edition.

The first was in the News
Desk section, which described the film, its cost, the sizes
available and also the new Agfa Iso-Pak 126 cartridge format
camera. It read:

Colour News from
Agfa-Gevaert

A brand new colour negative
film has just been announced by Agfa-Gevaert. Known as Agfacolor
CN S, the film is the result of a carefully planned programme
of research and has the following characteristics: high speed
of 80 ASA; wide exposure latitude; very fine grain coupled with
excellent definition; outstanding colour rendering and colour
separation due to a double mask. The new film is available
in the usual sizes and packs: roll, miniature and Rapid; and
there is also a 126 Pak Film for cartridge-loading cameras. This
means that practically every modern camera will accept CN S,
and thus all amateurs will benefit from the latest results of
Agfa-Gevaert's research.

Agfacolor CN S is balanced
for exposure in daylight or by light sources similar to daylight:
flashcubes, blue flashbulbs and electronic flash units. Its speed
of 80 ASA (20 DIN) provides a considerable exposure reserve,
even with the simpler types of cameras. The grain is approximately
as fine as that of a medium-speed black-and-white film, e.g.
Isopan IF (40 ASA).

CN S also has a yellow and
a red mask to ensure optimum rendering and separation of colours
coupled with good colour purity. These masks give the developed
film its characteristic orange colour, and are improvements which
are particularly apparent in high colour saturation of the yellow
areas of the subject and in the purity of blue shades - no longer
degraded in any way.

Coinciding with the introduction
of the new Agfacolor Negative Film CN S film supplied in
Pak cartridges (126), Agfa-Gevaert have also introduced their
first camera for the 126 system: the Agfa Iso-Pak.

The designers of this reasonably-priced
camera have succeeded in making the process of changing the cartridge
even more convenient and easy; the Pak cartridge is automatically
raised on opening the back of the camera. The new Agfa Iso-Pak
camera is of sturdy construction and smartly styled, with the
following specification: format: 28 x 28mm; cartridge ejector;
fixed focus f/11 lens; Parator shutter; symbol settings: Sun 1/80 sec;
Cloudy and flash 1 /40 sec; big Newton optical viewfinder;
accessory shoe flash contact; double and blank exposure prevention.

A neat gift pack containing
the new Iso-Pak camera, wrist-sling and one cartridge of 12-exposure
Agfacolor CN S film is available at £4.13s.9d (£4.69p).
A black plastic case for the camera and a special flashgun are
also available for the Iso-Pak, selling at £1.12s.8d (£1.63p)
and £2.4s.9d (£2.24p) respectively.

The
second description of Agfacolor CN S film was in the Felix
Smith on Colour section. It read:

NEW AGFACOLOR NEGATIVE FILM
The announcement of a new colour film from the Agfa-Gevaert stable
is always an interesting piece of news. The latest one is to
be known as Agfacolor CN S. It has a speed of 80 ASA and
is available in all the popular rollfilm and 35mm sizes, also
in 126 cartridges. The makers claim an exposure latitude of minus
one and plus two stops from the correct exposure, and still give
perfectly acceptable results in the finished prints. The most
interesting feature of the material is that it incorporates a
built-in two mask system, the aim of which is to improve
colour rendering in the finished prints by offsetting deficiencies
in the dyes which are available.

The way in which the CNS film
forms the masks is interesting. There is an additional green
sensitive layer between the magenta and cyan forming emulsions.
During colour development a colourless compound is formed with
the product of oxidation of the developer in the masking layer;
then the remaining uncoupled part of the coupler in this masking
layer is oxidised in the bleach to form a yellow dye which is
in fact a positive yellow mask to correct the unwanted blue absorption
of the magenta negative image. Presumably the green sensitivity
of both the magenta dye forming layer and the yellow forming
masking layer are carefully matched so that the amount of yellow
dye present in the finished negative is inversely proportional
to the negative magenta image.

The red mask is produced in
the cyan layer which has a special mask former built into it
in addition to the normal cyan forming couplers. This special
masking substance reacts with the uncoupled cyan couplers i.e. those
not used during development, to generate the cyan negative image
and form a red dye positive mask in the bleach. It is an ingenious
system, and it is interesting to note that both masks are coupled
at the bleaching stage. The system is quite different from the
Kodak one, in which the cyan and magenta colour couplers are
themselves coloured, so those which are not coupled remain to
form the positive masks.

Agfacolor MCN III
paper is recommended for printing from the masked negatives since
it is adjusted speedwise in the individual layers to suit the
new film. The same paper can be used to print CN 17 negatives
by using a mask substitute filter. Later in the year an even
faster paper, to be known as MCN III Type 7
will be marketed, and this will have the advantage of reducing
printing time, thus enabling more prints to be produced over
a given period, assuming negatives of similar density are being
printed on both types of paper.

Agfacolor CN S 400 ~ 1979

With a speed of 400ASA (ISO)
Agfacolor CNS 400 colour negative film was claimed to be ideal
for elusive shots in subdued light, or high speed action shots.
Also claimed to have a very high resolution with amazingly fine
grain.

It was available in 35mm, both
24 and 36 exposure cassettes, and 20 exposure cartridges of the
110 film size.

The 110 cartridge-based film
format was introduced by Kodak in 1972. It is essentially a miniaturised
version of Kodak's earlier 126 film format. Each frame is 13mm × 17mm,
with one registration hole.

(Left) An Agfacolor Processing
Manual specially written for the American market.

This manual incorporates the
processing sequences written above as well as information on
how to process Agfacolor films. Over half the book is taken up
with instructions on how to make prints on Agfacolor paper, and,
interestingly, lists the American size of 11x14inches in Agfacolor
paper in 10 and 50 sheet quantities, plus a 5x7inch size of Agfacolor
CN-17 sheet film

AGFA-GEVAERT ~ Duplichrome D 13

In 1969, Agfa-Gevaert introduced
Duplichrome D 13, a sheet film designed for making
large duplicate colour transparencies. It was intended for
making duplicates from original Agfa-Gevaert reversal films,
such as Agfachrome 50S and 50L Professional films. Successful
duplicates could also be made from Kodak Ektachrome and Kodachrome
original transparencies.

Duplichrome D 13 was available
in sheet film sizes from 4 x 5 inches to 20 x 24 inches.
The film had a speed of approximately 10 ASA (ISO) and was
designed for exposures in enlargers with colour heads with a
recommended exposure time of 1 second to 10 seconds.
Original transparencies could be printed directly onto the duplicating
film without the need for contrast masking or the use of the flashing technique.

Agfacolor Reversal
Duplicating Film (Reversal Coyping Film)At this time, Agfa-Gevaert
also manufactured Agfacolor Reversal Duplicating Film. As far
as is known, this film was for making 35mm duplicate transparencies
from 35 mm originals and was only available in 35mm format.
The film was originally known as Agfacolor Reversal Copying Film
and had been used by authorized Agfa processing laboratories
for the production of 35 mm duplicate transparencies since the
early 1950s.

Either of two processing sequences
could be used, a normal sequence taking 64 minutes wet time,
and a rapid sequence taking 45 minutes wet time.

The rapid sequence was mainly
for use in processing machines such as Colenta and
the processed transparencies had limited keeping properties due
to the shorter processing times. It was suggested by Agfa to
start the processing sequence in rotary machines with a Pre
Wet bath before the First Development step.

Processing
Step

Solution
Code

Time
at 75°F
(Normal Process)

Time
at 75°F
(Rapid Process)

Temperature
(°F)

First Developer

41 FD

8 minutes

8 minutes

75° +/
½°F

Wash

15 seconds

omit

68° 
75°F

Stop Bath

41 ST

3 minutes

2 minutes

71° 
75°F

White light. Turn
on room lights.

Wash

7 minutes

4 minutes

68° 
75°F

Reversal Exposure.
1 minute each side of film to 500 watt lamp at 40 inches
(1m) distance.

Colour Developer

41 CD

11 minutes

10 minutes

75° +/
½°F

Wash

14 minutes

11 minutes

68°F 
75°F

Bleach

41 BL

4 minutes

2 minutes

71° 
75°F

Wash

4 minutes

½ minute

68° 
75°F

Fixer

41 FX

4 minutes

2 minutes

71° 
75°F

Wash

7 minutes

3 minutes

68° 
75°F

Final Rinse

Agfa Agepon wetting
agent

1 minute

1 minute

71° 
75°F

Dry

Notes:

The First Developer time would
have to be increased pro rata with the First Developer exhaustion
rate if the processing solutions were not replenished.

The First Developer time could
be adjusted slightly with regard to the contrast of the duplicates
and the agitation rate.

15 ml. Formalin (30%) per
litre could be added to the Final Rinse bath to improve the keeping
qualities of the processed transparencies.

When made-up from the three
part chemical packs, both the First Developer and the Colour
Developer had to stand for 12 hours before use. The other
solutions could be used immediately after making up.

This processing sequence was
also used for Agfachrome 50S and 50L Professional films with
longer first and colour development times.

Duplichrome D 13 film remained
on the market for many years. A new duplicating sheet film was
introduced by Agfa-Gevaert in 1993 as Agfachrome Duplicating
Film. It was available as 4 x 5 inches,
10 x 8 inches, and in 35mm. An Agfa-Gevaert catalogue
for March 1993 states that Other sizes of duplicating film
available shortly. It was designed for processing in Agfa
AP44, which was the equivalent of the Kodak E6 process.

Agfachrome Duplicating Film
was most likely the replacement product for Duplichrome D 13.

AGFACOLOR Paper

Agfacolor paper was first demonstrated
at a meeting of the German Cinetechnical Society (Deutsche Kinotechnische
Gesellschaft) in 1942 at Dresden, but due to wartime conditions,
and lack of basic materials, Agfa did not release the Agfacolor
negative / positive process until January 1949, and then
only to a few laboratories in East/West Germany and later to
Switzerland and Russia. Agfacolor film was made at Wolfen, and
the printing paper was made at Leverkusen. The negative film,
like the early cine film, was available in daylight, Type T,
and artificial light, Type K. In the original instruction sheet
for the daylight type, the film is rated at 12 to 16 ASA. (Ref:
Michael Talbert's own copy).

The Agfacolor negative / positive
process was introduced into the U.K. in July 1951. Click hereto see some magazine adverts
that date from that time.

Until mid-1951, very few people
had set eyes on an Agfacolor negative, let alone printed one.
Agfa were concerned that if they marketed the process on the
basis that everyone was able to purchase the special Agfacolor
chemicals, colour paper and equipment to make their own colour
prints, great difficulties would arise for the amateur printer
from handling, processing, and especially the colour printing
of an unknown negative material onto an unknown printing paper.
This would have had a detrimental commercial effect on the Agfacolor
negative/positive process as a whole.

Agfacolor
Processing Arrives in the UK
To provide technically satisfactory processing, Agfa set up four
laboratories in the U.K. with specifically designed equipment
to process and print Agfacolor negative film to a high standard.
Staff at the laboratories were trained by Agfa in the various
aspects of processing, printing and enlarging Agfacolor negatives.

In July 1951, the first four
companies to handle Agfacolor materials were (according to Mr.Napthine
of Agfa)

A.E. Coe and Sons Ltd,
of 32 London Road, Norwich. This laboratory later became Barrett
& Coe Ltd; Information from Andrew Coe is that they did processing
& printing of Agfacolor negatives in 1951 but stopped in
1954 because they could not make a profit from it.

Fencolor laboratories Ltd.
of 11a, Newmarket Road, Cambridge, are first mentioned as Agfacolor
processors in the BJPA of 1953, so its likely they started Agfacolor
processsing in 1952. It appears that University Cameras
of Cambridge sold Agfacolor negative film very early on and maybe
took processing and printing orders for Fencolor.

The Agfacolor process was capable
of giving very good results, provided the film was exposed precisely
in the right lighting conditions and the print was made with
the correct printing filters in the enlarger. However, in the
early days of Agfacolor printing, few people were able to filter
an Agfacolor print successfully, so paper wastage was very high,
- and expensive! It is quite possible that those who had some
experience in making Carbro or Dye Transfer prints in the 1930s
or 1940s, or maybe Ansco Printon prints, were the
most qualified to judge colour casts on the new Agfacolor paper.
Those who had made assembly prints would have had
to learn an entirely new method of changing the colour balance
of an Agfacolor print, using glass Agfacolor filters on a black
and white enlarger with a filter draw, or working with a Varioskop
F enlarger with an Agfacolor head.

To instruct photographers in
the use of Agfacolor negative film, The International School
of Colour Photography was started at Heath House, Crockham
Hill, Edenbridge, Kent. Only photographers who had attended a
course at an approved Agfacolor School, such as this, could obtain
the genuine Agfacolor chemicals, equipment, and Agfacolor printing
paper to process their films and make their own colour prints
in their own darkrooms. Students acquired knowledge in using
both types of Agfacolor film, plus the processing and printing
of Agfacolor negatives. However, upon returning to their studios
to put into practice what they had learnt, and finding a general
lack of processing and printing facilities in the U.K. at that
time, the Colour School also established a colour processing
laboratory, namely Colour Processing Laboratories,
or C.P.L. for short (1952).

At that time, early 1950s,
Agfacolor paper was balanced for their unmasked film, and was
designated CN 111. It was a thick, double weight
paper with a glossy surface. C-colour, N-normal, 1-double weight,
1-white, 1-gloss. A Hard grade, CH 111, was available
from 1952. There was also a colour positive film, for making
large display transparencies, later known as Positive Film
S

Agfacolor negative film CN17
(40 ASA) was introduced in 1956, and CN14 (20ASA) in 1958. A
masked film was put on the market in 1963, Agfacolor CN17M, with
a new printing paper for masked colour negatives, coded CN 111M,
later to be known as MCN 111. These papers, plus
others, are discussed below.

Agfacolor paper CS 310 Type
6 paper was made by Konishiroku (Konica), for Agfa-Gevaert. It
was most likely supplied in roll form and then packed by Agfa
at Leverkausen. The packets are marked Packed in Germany.

Type 6 paper was coded CS
310, where this code can be interpreted as Colour Special (grade),
P.E. white, high gloss. Special grade was between Soft Contrast
grade and Normal Contrast grade.
It was likely there was also a Normal Contrast CN 310 Type 6
paper, plus other surfaces i.e. other than High Gloss (0) paper.

Process 85 was packed as powder
chemicals to be dissolved in water. Process 86 was made as liquid
concentrates to be diluted with water.

It was quite likely that Agfa-Gevaert
produced other colour negative papers and would manufacture paper
with a specific emulsion for a special purpose.

MCS 117 Typ4 is believed to
have been available from 1972, as this paper is mentioned in
the 1972 Agfacolor User Processing manual (see cover picure,
above) but gives no data about it. Strangely, however, it does
say the paper cant be processed in Pa chemicals at 20°C,
which conflicts with Michael's experience of processing MCNIII
Typ4 through Pa chemicals at 20°C when the lab., where he
then worked, first starting using Type 4 paper. The MCS 117 Typ
4 paper was coded Special Grade and Silk surface.

Further variations in Agfa
papers and processing continued into the 1980s, with the 310
paper range eventually reaching Type 10.
Michael Talbert has data sheets for Type 8 and Type 9 papers
and there are many processsing variations, e.g. processes with
separate bleach and fixing baths, processes with no wash water
used in them, and Process 94, where an EP-2 type paper, such
as Agfacolor Type 8, could be processed through chemicals which
were RA-4 time compatible; 3minutes wet processing time. Type
8 paper was EP-2 process compatible while Type 9 was an RA-4
process paper, using Agfa Process 95.

Agfacolor papers CN 111 and
CH 111 were compatible with the Pa process until
their demise, CH 111 around 1966, and CN 111 around 1971.

Paper with the the first figure
= 3 (as in 310), indicates that the paper base was
polyethylene (P.E) coated paper, equivalent to Kodak Resin Coated
base, R.C.
Apart from 310 = white glossy paper, P.E. coated paper was also
made in three other surfaces, designated 312, 317 and 319.

Baryta (Fibre Based) paperBaryta is a barium
sulphate coating that has been traditionally applied to fibre
based photographic paper prior to coating with the emulsion layers.
This paper, also described as Fibre Based (F.B) paper,
was the traditional paper for black and white printing for many
decades. When processing F.B. paper, the liquid chemistry soaks
into the paper, making the paper slower to process and (especially)
to wash and dry than P.E (R.C) papers. However, the technical
benefits of the Baryta layer include greater detail and definition,
extended tonal range and (when properly processed) excellent
archival properties.

Agfacolor CN 111Agfacolor CN 111
Paper. This paper was specifically for printing from unmasked
negatives such as Agfacolor CN17 film.It was much slower in speed than the subsequent
Agfacolor MCN 111 Type 7 paper. The storage advice,
as printed underneath Agfacolor on MCN paper labels,
is omitted, since CN 111 paper could be stored at a temperature
'not above 68F (20C)'.

A box of 8 inch x 10 inch
Agfacolor CN 111 paper.
This box dates from 1960 to 1964. It is likely that boxes and
packets dated post 1964 would be labelled Agfa Gevaert,
509 Leverkusen" above Agfa in the oval. CN 111 was
a paper designed for printing from unmasked colour negatives
of normal contrast.

The Grundzahl
figures stamped on the back of the Agfacolor CN III
box of 8 inch x 10 inch paper. Unusually
the filtration is made up of Yellow and Cyan figures viz:
90 Yellow, 00 Magenta, 10 Cyan.

Two continental sizes
of Agfacolor CNIII paper.
The two larger boxes date from 1960 to 1964. The smaller box
is possibly older because there is no Pa1/60 label, but appears
to show a similar emulsion number as the 8 inch x 10 inch
Agfacolor CN III box illustrated above.

An early Agfa-Gevaert
manufactured packet of 8 inch x 10 inch CN 111
paper. This paper dates from 1964 to 1966 and was produced after
the amalgamation of the two companies in July 1964. The Grundzahl
figures printed on the back of the packet are 60 40 00.

This box seems to date from
1969 to 1972. There is fair certainty that CN 111 paper
was no longer made by 1973. Hence this box is one of the last
batches.

The Grundzahl figures
(see below) printed on the underside
of the box are 60 40 00. (60 Yellow, 40 Magenta, 0 Cyan). Filter
corrections on the later batches of this paper may have been
very similar to filtrations on MCN 111 papers for masked
colour negatives such as Agfacolor CNS films; also Ektacolor
and Kodacolor.

Agfacolor Paper CH 111This label dates from
1960, although the design of the larger label may date from the
1950s. Agfacolor paper CH 111 was first introduced in 1952.

This paper was for use with
soft contrast negatives and also gave good results with slightly
under exposed negatives.

The little label above the
main label translates as: Only Pa 1/60 Developer to be
used. Pa 1/60 was a colour developer introduced in 1960.
It was non-irritating to the skin, less likely to cause dermatitis,
and produced brighter and more brilliant colours.

Layer Changes in Agfacolor Papers CN 111 and
CH 111During 1958, Agfa changed
the layer coating order for their colour papers.The original order of the light sensitive
layers was to coat the Red sensitive layer on the base of the
paper followed by the Green sensitive, a Yellow filter, then
the Blue sensitive layer on top of the pack. This
was also the layer coating order with Agfacolor negative films.

The sharpest layer was always
the top layer, and as the Cyan dye image generated by the Red
sensitive layer carried the most tonal weight, or was the darkest
dye, it was found an advantage to coat the Red sensitive layer
on top, thus giving the print a slightly higher visual sharpness.

The Green sensitive layer remained
in the middle, and the Blue sensitive yellow dye forming layer
was coated next to the paper base. It was also possible to dispense
with the yellow filter layer, as previously coated under the
Blue sensitive layer, by making the Blue sensitive layer much
faster in speed than the relative blue sensitivity of the other
two layers.

Eastman Kodak had reversed
the layer order in their Kodacolor papers some years before (believed
to be Kodacolor III Type 1348, in 1954, see Early Kodacolor Print Materials).

This layer order in CN111 and
CH111 papers remained until their demise, in about 1969.
The subsequent Agfacolor MCN 111
paper was coated in the reverse order, with Red sensitive on
the base and Blue sensitive on the surface.

MCN 111 paper was introduced
in 1963 for making prints from the then new Agfacolor
CN-17M sheet film, Agfas first masked negative colour
film. This label dates from 1964. This paper was for use with
Normal contrast negatives. The paper quickly became popular for
printing from other masked colour negative films, notably, Kodacolor
rollfilms and Ektacolor sheet films. In 1968, an improved version,
in rolls of paper for photo finishing only, of MCNI 111
paper was introduced, namely, MCN 111 Type 7,
(see below). The print filtrations
needed to correct colour casts on MCN 111 paper were generally
of much higher values, or density, compared to the later Type 7
paper.

On later labels storage information
was printed underneath the cyan panel. It was recommended that
MCN 111 paper was stored at or below 10°C (50°F) to extend
the keeping properties of the paper. The later labels (see below)
stated: Cool Storage below +10°C in four languages.

For the first time, Agfa-Gevaert
make reference to the fading of the colour dyes in processed
prints on the outside label underneath MCN 111. They state
Since all colours may change in time, no replacements will
be made for changes in colour.

Agfa and Gevaert joined forces
in July 1964. Both these companies continued to make colour film
and colour printing paper with their own brand labelling for
a year or two after 1964, but from autumn 1964 many film and
paper products were labelled Agfa-Gevaert.

This front of packet
label dates from 1966 and shows storage information. Note it
is now labelled Agfa-Gevaert.

The back of the label
gives the emulsion number at the top and the Grundzahl
figures for changing the filtration between batches stamped on
the packet below the label. The figures here are 230 210 00.

This label is very
likely to be the last type of MCN 111 paper label before
Agfacolor Type 7 paper was introduced in sheet sizes. It
dates from 1968.

The back label shows
various design changes and is identical to the MCNIII Typ7 label
illustrated below.

The Grundzahl
(see below) figures for changing
the filtration between batches are 60 60 00.

Agfa-Gevaert Agfacolor MCN III Type 7 Paper

An improved Agfacolor paper,
MCN 111 Type 7, was introduced in 1968.
It was first obtainable in roll form, suitable for D&P laboratories.
By early 1969 packets and boxes of sheet paper were made available
in sizes from 3½x5inches to 22x27inches in 10, 25, 50,
and 100 sheet quantities. This new paper replaced Agfacolor
MCN 111 paper.

Type 7 was designed for printing
from masked colour negatives and was approximately twice the
speed of the older MCN 111 papeer and four times the speed
of Agfacolor CN 111 paper. By this time manufacture of the
Hard grade Agfacolor CH 111 paper had ceased.

In general, the new Type 7
paper required lower filter corrections to produce a correctly
balanced print. The paper was designed to be processed in Agfacolor Pa
chemicals.

In appearance, Type 7 paper
was identical to the older MCN 111 paper, with regard to
surface and base thickness. In the early 1970s, the author made
some prints on a silk surface Agfacolor paper designated MCN 117 Type 7.
Code: 1 = Double Weight; 1 = White; 7 = Silk Texture. It had
a lower contrast than the glossy surface Agfacolor paper, due
to the Silk surface.

In 1983, Agfa-Gevaert introduced
another paper designated Type 7, being CN 310 Type 7.
This paper was for use in Agfa CP-92 process chemistry, which
was the equivalent of the Kodak EP-2 process. CN 310 Type 7
was an entirely different product to the older MCN 111 Type 7
paper of the early 1970s.

The author remembers printing
on MCN 111 Type 7 paper as late as 1977. The paper was packaged
as 25 sheets in 20x24inch size. As far as is known, MCN 111 Type 7
emulsion was only ever a fibre based (F.B) paper and was never
coated on a resin (R.C.) or a P.E. (Polyethylene) base. It's
possible that Agfa manufactured some batches of MCN 111
Type 7 concurrently with Type 4 as this would explain
why the Type 7 paper is believed to have still been available
as late as 1977.

The letters O.R.
printed to the left hand side of the top of the label (see RHS
image, below) meant the paper was not Back Marked.
The trade mark Agfa was printed on the back of Agfacolor
paper diagonally at about 2 inch intervals on Back Marked
 paper and such packs were printed with the letters M.R.

The label on this 10
sheet packet dates from 1969.
This labels and the MCN 111 labels above are identical except
for the Typ 7 stamp.

A later label with
Typ 7 printed in blue dating from about 1970 with
minor changes in the font size of the words AgfaGevaert
and MCN 111.

Agfa-Gevaert
Agfacolor MCN III Type 4 PaperThe box (below) contained
one roll of 8 inch x 246 ft of Agfacolor
Type 4 paper. Roll paper was mainly for use in Machine Printers,
or in a Roll Paper box, which could be positioned
under an enlarger on the base board. The paper was exposed through
an opening in the top of the box by the enlarger light and the
paper was wound on after each exposure by an electric
motor. The opening in the top of the box could be masked
with thin black cardboard according to the size of the print.
Michael Talbert had much experience of the use of roll paper
boxes making prints from 2¾ inches square to 8 inches x 10 inches
on MCN 111 Type 7 paper in his early days of colour
printing.

This Type 4 box dates from
about 1972, and is most likely one of the first batches of Type 4
paper, as Typ 4 has been printed onto an old
MCN 111 paper label dating from before 1969.

New labels for Agfacolor paper
were introduced in 1974. This image shows a comparison between
old and new Type 4 paper labels for roll paper, 50 inches
wide and 33 feet long for mural prints. They are almost
exactly the same Batch No. and by this time the Grundzahl
figures, 70 40 00, were printed on the paper label.

The new label denotes the surface
 White Glossy, and E.I. stands for Emulsion
In (emulsion side rolled inwards). In 1974, 50 inches
was the widest width of colour paper obtainable from Agfa Gevaert.

Printing Agfacolor Negatives onto Agfacolor
Paper

Agfacolor Printing
FiltersA service for the processing
and printing of the first Agfacolor negative films began in Germany
in January 1949. By July 1951, four colour processing laboratories
in the UK were handling Agfacolor negative film and making contact
prints and enlargements from customers negatives. (see
above)

Although the Eastman Kodak
Company had been making Kodacolor prints with semi-automatic
printing machines, using a method of Tri-color printing, since
1942 (see:
Early Kodacolor Print Materials), the Agfa company preferred
a different approach. Agfacolor prints were made by a method
known as White Light printing, in which the colour
cast on a test print was removed by inserting coloured filters
into the light beam of the printer or enlarger.

Although this web page has
already described the colour printing filters used in Motion
Picture printing (see above), the Agfacolor printing filters
for use in printers and enlargers were slightly different.

In 1951, Agfacolor Printing
filters for use in printers and enlargers were manufactured as
square glass sheets, in 6 sizes, from 2¾inch square for
enlargers taking 35mm negatives, up to 11¾inch square
for vertical or horizontal enlargers designed to print large
sheet film negatives.

All sizes of printing filters
were available in the three subtractive colours i.e yellow, magenta
and blue-green (cyan) in a range of varying densities. The lowest
colour density was nominated as a 5 unit filter and
then the filter densities progressed in 10 unit densities up
to and including 100, the highest colour density. Thus a set
of filters would consist of 11 in each colour, making 33 separate
filters (in 1958, a set of 24 gelatine Agfacolor printing filters
was manufactured specifically for amateur colour printers, 8
filters in each colour). The 100 density filter was
marked as 99, so a six figure code could be used
when writing the filtrations used in colour printing. The filtrations
used for each colour print or test print were written in the
strict order of Yellow, Magenta, Cyan, the colour
Blue-Green was (by then) known as Cyan.

A simpler way of writing filtrations
was to abbreviate the designation for the filter not being used
by using a line. 00 99 45 became  99 45. This is said:
"Stroke, ninety-nine, forty-five".

For Agfacolor printing, an
enlarger with a filter draw was an essential requirement, though
it was possible to modify a black and white enlarger for colour
printing by fitting some kind of filter draw between the light
source and the condensers.

The sets of 33 colour printing
filters were supplied in a wooden case. The one shown alongside
is believed to date from the mid to late 1950s.

There are 11 filters in each
colour, from 5 to 99 (effectively 100) in colour density, plus
three Mosaic filters. The first three filters at the left hand
end are the Mosaic filters, see here
(below) for an explanation of their use.

The size of each filter is
4¾inches (12cm) square. Glass filters of this size were
still being used in De Vere Mark X Horizontal enlargers for making
mural colour prints on Agfacolor paper and on Cibachrome Print
material CCP  D 182 in the 1970s.

On each filter is printed a
black/white edge; the denser the filter, the longer was the printed
white section compared with the black section. It was then easy
to tell if the filters were not in order of density when they
were put back in their case or before the start of a printing
session.

There are 11 Yellow filters,
11 Magenta filters, and 11 Cyan filters. The densities of each
of the filters are given above on the white strip below the hinge
of the lid. At the left hand end of this top white strip, above
9and serving to identify) the mosaic filters, is marked:-
"GP", which stands for (in German) Gelb  Purpur,
meaning Yellow - Magenta.
"GB", which stands for Gelb  Blau-Grün,
meaning Yellow  Cyan.
"PB", which stands for Purpur  Blau-Grün,
meaning Magenta  Cyan.

The square window
at the left hand end of the box, which could be covered by the
flap, is a safelight (safe for Agfacolor paper types CN111 and
CH111) to help select the correct printing filter in the dark
without risk of fogging the Agfacolor paper and without having
to turn on the main room light. The Safelight was
operated by the small white switch, visible at the right hand
side of the flap. The left hand end of the filter box opens and
folds back as there is a hinge at the back of the box. Inside
the box there is a voltage transformer connected to the small
bulb for illuminating the safelight filter under the flap. The
input voltage is 240volts on the model illustrated. The safelight
was an available extra when purchasing the box of filters from
Agfa.

Two Mosaic
filters.Notice that these Mosaic
filters differ from the ones illustrated
below, by using a 5x5 grid, with 25 colour unit variations
to each filter in the grid, rather than a 6x6 grid varying by
20 units of colour.The
5x5 grid has the advantage of showing a slightly larger area
of each filtration on the test print.Left hand Mosaic: Filtrations range from no filtration,
top left, to 99 00 99, bottom right. This Mosaic is suitable
for Yellow to Green to Cyan colour casts in the test print. 50
00 50 (50 green), is in the middle of the Mosaic.Right hand Mosaic: Filtrations range from no filtration,
top left, to 00 99 99, bottom right. This Mosaic is suitable
for Magenta to Blue to Cyan casts in the test print. 00 50 50
(50 blue) is in the middle of the Mosaic.

Two Individual Filters.A 99 Yellow filter
and a 90 Magenta filter. The filters are each marked with their
appropriate filtrations in their top left hand corners (see above),
L 99 00 00 on the Yellow filter and L 00 90 00 on the
Magenta filter. Its possible that the 'L' stands for (in German)
Licht, meaning light.

All filters were marked with
their densities in this way.

Enlargements from colour negatives
were made in exactly the same manner as enlarging from black
and white negatives, apart from the use of the colour printing
filters. The colour printing filters were used to correct any
colour cast by inserting a filter of the same colour and density
of the cast.

Examples:
A test print has a slight RED cast but is overall much too YELLOW.
No filters were used in making the test print, filtration was:
00 00 00 or _ _ _ The person printing speculates, by
experience, that the filtration required to correct the cast
might be 70 30 --
This consists of 30 RED, to correct the red cast, and an additional
40 YELLOW, to correct the yellow cast. The 30 RED consists of
a 30 YELLOW filter plus a 30 MAGENTA filter, then a
further 40 YELLOW filter to correct for the Yellow element
of the colour cast. This filtration makes the print more CYAN
due to the red filter, and more BLUE due to the yellow filter,
thus neutralizing the cast.
Adding a filter changes the print colour opposite to the colour
of the added filter. Removing a filter from the filters already
in the enlarger adds to the print the same colour as the filter
removed.

A test print has a heavy CYAN
cast and has been exposed using the filtration of 70 80 -- in
the enlarger. We know from the table above that Yellow and Magenta
filters make the print Cyan, so to correct this colour cast it
is necessary to reduce the filtration figures by the density
of the cast. Suppose the density of the Cyan cast is judged to
be about 40 CYAN, the next filtration to try would be 30 40 --
i.e. remove 40 CYAN = 40 YELLOW and 40 MAGENTA
This would make the print appear REDDER and, hopefully, eliminate
the original CYAN cast.
If the new test print resulting from this filtration was judged
to have a slight MAGENTA cast, the Magenta filter might be increased
by 10 units to effect a correction, making the (hopefully
foinal) filtration 30 50 --. Removing MAGENTA from the colour
of the print, by adding magenta to the enlarger filtration, makes
the print GREENER.

It is never necessary to print
with all three colours of filter within the enlarger since yellow,
magenta and cyan filters, if all used together, simply cancel
each other out.

Agfacolor
Enlarger HeadsChanging the filtration
when making numerous test-strips and final prints was a laborious
task, prone to error and took time, especially as the glass filters
had to be carefully handled. (The author knows this only too
well having had experience of making colour prints with 9inch
square glass colour printing filters). Hence, an entirely different
method for adjusting the filtration in enlargers was devised
by Agfa in the late 1940s.

Instead of a whole array of
individual glass colour printing filters of varying densities,
a special printing enlarger Colour Head was equipped
with one 99 (100) density glass filter in each of
the subtractive colours which could be gradually introduced into
the light beam of the enlarger. Three knobs on the outside of
the colour head were provided for moving the 99 filters
more or less into the light beam. Above the knobs was a graduated
scale from 0 to 99. When half the filter was across the light
beam the scale registered 50, and so on.

The filtration of any colour
print could now be corrected to any degree down to a unit of
1, whereas the smallest change when using glass filters
was a unit of 5, the smallest density glass filter
made.

If the colour cast on the test
print was so strong that a higher filtration than 99
was needed to eliminate the cast, a fourth knob, situated in
the centre of the colour head was pulled out to introduce a further
99 filter in any one of the three subtractive colours.
The first Agfacolor Heads to be manufactured were provided with
one 99 supplementary filter but later, in the early
1950s, the Heads were modified to incorporate one pull-out knob
for each colour. The maximum filtration which could then be utilized
was 210 units in each colour. The rotary knobs were able to be
turned past the 99 mark giving another 10 filtration
in each colour. This was to allow for a certain amount of fading
of the filters. The pull-out knobs were known as stops,
and the rotary knobs were known as dials.

This Agfacolor
Head dates from around 1957. It has two pull out Stops,
set to 99 each in Yellow and Magenta. Hence, the
filtration is set to 160 132 -- (you can just read 32
on the Magenta dial).
The stops from left to right were Yellow, Magenta,
Cyan.
The Head measured: 7¼inch width, 10¼inch deep,
10inch height.

This Agfacolor
Head dates from around 1965. It worked in exactly the same way
as the older head (left) and took the same size bulb. An auxiliary
fan could be fitted to the back of the head to cool the lamp
during long exposures.
The filtration showing is 143 60  with the Yellow stop
pulled out.
The Head measured: 8inch width, 10¾inch deep, 8½inch
height.

The lamp used in the Agfacolor
Head was a 250 watt tungsten bulb. This bulb also illuminated
the scales above the rotary knobs so that the filtration could
be adjusted in the dark-room. The light was thoroughly mixed
before reaching the condensers of the enlarger.

The Agfa Varioskop
was the first enlarger to be fitted with an Agfacolor Head, although
the Head was modified to fit other makes of enlargers. One of
the first companies to fit an Agfacolor Head to their enlargers
was De Vere, who had started making enlargers for black and white
printing in 1947.

The author has had considerable
experience of making prints using Agfacolor Heads and can add
the following comments.

The filters in the Agfacolor
Head faded fairly rapidly when in every day use, and supplementary
filters, such as coloured gelatine filters of the kind used in
photographic studios over spotlights to change the colour of
the lighting, were placed in the filter draw of the enlarger.
These filters had no numerical value and were left in the filter
draw permanently, or until the faded filter in the head was changed.

The dial filter when at 99
was supposed to match the density of the 99 stop
filter in each colour. The was rarely the case as one or other
of the filters would fade more rapidly than the other. It was
also necessary to differentiate between a filtration from the
99 mark on the dial to the end of the dial at 110
units, (as far as the dial would turn), and the use of the 99
stop, plus the dial up to 10 units.

A 105 unit filtration in any
colour using only the dial turned to 105, 5 past the 99
mark, was written: 105d

The same 105 unit filtration
in any colour using the 99 stop plus the dial turned
to 5 was written: 105s

On most colour heads 105d
and 105s produced different results i.e. the results did not
match in colour. The dials were calibrated with marks at 105
and 110 but were not numbered as such. 99 was the last number
shown on the dial and the dial on each colour head was numbered
up to 99 in increments of 10 with intermediate marks at each
5, (5, 15, 25 up to 105). Oddly enough, the figure 100
was never used, at least not in the laboratory where I worked.
Filtrations went from 99 to 101 !

In use, the bulbs gradually
turned yellow over time. When an old bulb blew and
a new one was fitted, all previous test strips exposed with the
old bulb would need re-testing with less yellow filtration and
less exposure.

The strength of the Agfacolor
filters used in the colour head were approximately two thirds
the strength of the Kodak Colour Compensating or
the later Colour Printing  filters.

Compensation
for exposure times when using Agfacolor filters
When any glass filter was used for printing in the filter draw,
or any filtration was dialed into an Agfacolor Head, the exposure
of the print had to be increased by a certain amount to allow
for the fact that the printing filters were holding back
some of the light used for the print exposure. Each colour printing
filter cut down the exposing light to a certain extent.

Agfa produced tables of exposure
factors for calculating exposures for all possible variations
in filtrations.
Example:

A print exposure made with
no filters in the filter draw (zero print) is judged to have
a Blue/Magenta cast and glass filters of 120 Magenta and 90 Cyan
are placed in the enlarger filter draw to correct the colour
cast. ( -- 120 90)

The original 'correct' exposure
with no filters was 8 seconds at f/11. The exposure factor given
for those particular Magenta and Cyan filters is 7.4. Therefore
the print exposure has to be increased by 7.4 times the original
exposure. Thus, 7.4 x 8 = 59.2. The print would have been exposed
at 60 seconds at f/11. The length of time could, of course, be
reduced to 30 seconds at f/8

When using the Agfacolor head
the exposure factors were sometimes less. In this case, the exposure
factor for 120 magenta and 90Cyan is 6.6. Glass filters generally
required more compensation in print exposure than the colour
heads because of a small amount of light reflection between the
filter surfaces in a stack of glass filters placed in a filter
draw.

When adding glass filters,
or dialing up filters on the Enlarger Colour Head, the exposure
time was multiplied by the appropriate exposure factor. When
removing glass filters, or dialing down, the exposure time was
divided by the appropriate exposure factor.

Early Methods of Calculating
the Correct Colour Balance of an Agfacolor Print

The Agfacolor Mosaic Filters

In the early 1950s, the most
difficult aspect of making any successful colour print, was deciding
on which printing filters to place in the filter draw to eliminate
the colour cast. Two decisions had to be made.

The choice of colour printing
filter(s),

The density of those printing
filter(s).

Of course it was quite possible
to expose many test strips with different filtrations and exposure
times on a trial and error basis in the hope that one or other
of the tests might show the correct colour balance. This takes
much time and uses up a lot of colour printing paper. hence,
Agfa invented a faster method of arriving at the correct filtration
while exposing only the minimum of test strips.

The Mosaic filters were obtainable
in three separate colour groups. The chart above shows the 36
different filtrations in each of the three mosaic filters. In
the top left corner, the zero filtration, there is a distinguishing
shape for each mosaic. As this shape was printed onto every mosaic
test print, it was possible to tell after processing which particular
mosaic filter had been used in making the print.
The group of 36 squares were reproduced eight times over each
mosaic test print, so that the 'correct' filtration would appear
eight times on the same print.

A similar system appeared in
the 1970s as the Mitchell Unicube, though the Unicube relied
upon integration to find the correct balance. One exposure was
made through a diffuser and the user had to decide the greyest
square. Kodak had their 'Kodak Ektacolor Filterfinder Kit' which
worked on the same principle.

The Agfa Mosaic filters consisted
of different filter combinations, available as three different
filter groups. Each mosaic filter contained 36 different filter
combinations in a chequer board fashion. One mosaic filter was
of Yellow  Magenta filtrations, from no filtration
to 99 99 . Another mosaic was of Yellow  Cyan
filtrations, from no filtration to 99  99. The
third mosaic was of Magenta  Cyan filtrations,
from no filtration to  99 99.

Each mosaic filter was available
as a glass filter for placing on top of a piece of Agfacolor
paper. A Mosaic print was made by printing the Mosaic
filter onto the paper with the negative in the negative carrier.

Procedure for using the Agfacolor Mosaic filters
A test print was exposed to find the correct exposure for the
final print but the test was exposed with no filters in the filter
draw. The test would also tell which of the Mosaic filters was
to be used according to the colour cast of the test print. This
zero print would have been a Stepped Test,
a print made with different exposure times on the same piece
of paper.

The principle of colour
balancing a print from a colour negative using subtractive filtration,
is as follows:

If a test print
is too:

Subtract: OR

OR Add:

Yellow

Magenta + Cyan

Yellow

Magenta

Yellow + Cyan

Magenta

Cyan

Yellow + Magenta

Cyan

Blue

Yellow

Magenta + Cyan

Green

Magenta

Yellow + Cyan

Red

Cyan

Yellow + Magenta

Hence, if the "zero"
test print had a Green cast, then another test was exposed, this
time with the Yellow  Cyan mosaic filter placed
on top of the printing paper (i.e. adding Yellow - Cyan
filtration) and exposing for twice the time as assessed by the
zero stepped exposure test print. The Yellow  Cyan
Mosaic was graduated in 36 Yellow and Cyan filtration
combinations at 20 unit intervals, for filtering out colour
casts from Yellow to Green to Cyan (see diagram). The exposure
time was doubled to compensate in general for the density of
the different filtrations in the mosaic filter.

Each mosaic filter repeated
the same group of 36 different filtrations eight times, so that
a single exposure using the mosaic would show the effect of the
mosaic over 8 different parts of the print. Each filter measured
4¾ inches by 2½ inches.

After processing, the Mosaic
print would show a range of colours from Blue to Magenta to Red.
A filtration for exposing the final print could be assessed by
choosing the most neutral coloured square, repeated eight times
over the Mosaic test print. A special mask was available, which
isolated the assessed filtration in the eight sections.
It was perforated with eight square holes, and when placed on
the Mosaic print and one square hole lined up with a selected
filtration, the other seven holes would show the result from
the same filtration in the other seven sections.

Having found the filtration
for that particular square, (see diagram), those filters could
be placed in the filter draw, the exposure time calculated from
the exposure factor table, based on the zero print
exposure, and the final print exposed. In practice, it is likely
that another test print would be exposed, as the Mosaic filters
were made at 20 unit intervals and so an estimated 'in between'
filtration might have to be made.

If the colour
cast on the zero print was so strong that the Mosaic
print (as in the example) was still Yellow, or Cyan, or Green
in the 99   square, or the   99
square, or the 99  99 square, then another trial
Mosaic print was exposed, but this time with a 99 unit filter
of the same colour of the cast placed in the filter draw. When
the Mosaic print was assessed, it was remembered that each, say,
yellow filtration had been increased by 99 units. For example,
the 40   square would now be 140  .

The disadvantages of the mosaic
filter system were:

The area covered by each individual
filter combination was minute in a large print. This could have
possibly been alleviated by making small test prints the same
size as the mosaic filters, 4 ¾ x 2 ½ inches. Then
when the correct filtration was decided upon, another test print
was made at the desired enlargement,( using the filter combination
estimated,) to find out the correct exposure for the final print.
But then this uses more printing paper.

There was absolutely no way
of knowing if the correct filter combination for a particular
negative would coincide with a grey area, if there was one, or
a flesh tone, or an area representative of the subject as a whole,
and which could be filtered to the best colour. So another mosaic
print would have to be made, and this wastes paper.

It should be noted that a saturated
area of any colour is extremely difficult to filter to correct
balance because that area of the print may look acceptable at
a number of differing filtrations that would not be representative
of the picture as a whole.

Because of these disadvantages,
the mosaic system was almost obsolete by the end of the 1950s.
A far better method was to make one test strip from a new negative
at a filtration based on previously printed negatives and then,
according to the colour of this test strip, make three or four
more tests with different estimated filter values. It was quite
possible that one of the tests would be close to a neutral colour
balance. Another two estimated test strips would likely bring
the correct filtration to within 10 filter units and a final,
correctly balanced, print could then be made. In the long run,
this method probably wasted less paper on test prints than the
mosaic system.

Agfacolor
Comparator
In the early 1950s, a special machine was marketed by Agfa for
judging colour casts in colour negatives by matching the colour
of a negative to be printed with a negative which had previously
been printed and was known to print to a correct balance.

The Comparator was equipped
with a set of Agfacolor printing filters which could be set at
the filtration for the known Agfacolor negative (one
that printed to a neutral balance), and another set of printing
filters which were adjustable to match the colour of the two
negatives. Both negatives were viewed at the same time, and the
filters were changed under the unknown negative,
(the negative that was to be printed), until the colour of both
negatives looked the same. The value of the printing filters
used to match the colour of the negatives was then used to make
the final print.

Example:-The known
Agfacolor negative had been printed at a filtration of -- 40
40 and this had produced a satisfactory print. When the unknown
negative was matched in colour to the known negative,
the matching filters were -- 85 90, then this filtration was
the correct one for the final print.

By adding blue filters, almost
50 blue, this meant that the unknown negative was
yellower than the known negative. If the unknown
negative had been printed at a filtration of  40 40, then
the resulting print would have printed bluer, the amount of extra
yellow in the negative producing a blue cast. By adding a blue
filter, approximately 50 blue, or in colour printing filter terms,
45 Magenta, 50 Cyan, ( -- 85 90) , this filtered out the blue
cast.
If, instead, the unknown negative had been bluer
than the known negative, the yellow filter over the
unknown negative would have to be adjusted until
a match was found. Assuming that the filters under the unknown
negative were -- 40 40, and a yellow filter was added of value
of 60 -- --, the resulting filtration would be 60 40 40. Subtracting
the neutral density value of 40, leaves a filtration of 20 --
-- . This filtration would be used for printing the unknown
negative.
The Comparator was also able to match the densities of the two
negatives, in the case of the unknown negative being
under exposed or over exposed. For all of this to work, both
negatives would have had to have been printed on the same batch
of paper.

The
'Colorax' and other devicesThere were other methods
of finding the correct filtration for a colour print, such as
the Colorax device. The Colorax had the printing
filters built into it, and a test print showed 12 or 36 sector
shapes with different filtrations. On the later Colorax devices,
the filtration figures were recorded onto the test prints. Unlike
the Mosaic filters, the same area of the negative was recorded
on the test print.

Other gadgets, or devices were
the E.K.
Strip printer
and the Colormeister.

By the early 1960s, most of
these gadgets were rendered obsolete. More sophisticated methods
evaluating colour negatives were appearing on the market such
as electronic densitometers which, if correctly calibrated, could
give a fairly accurate filtration from an unknown negative in
seconds. One of the best densitometers made was the Macbeth Quantalog, made by the Macbeth Corporation,
Newburgh, New York, U.S.A. Another was the Welch Densichron. These newly marketed densitometers
drastically reduced the amount of tests prints made in hand enlarging.
'Hand enlarging' is a term in the photofinishing industry referring
to enlargements made manually with an enlarger, as opposed to
small prints made on an automatic machine, as is usually the
case with amateurs negative films.

Notes
on Early Filtrations used with the AGFACOLOR HeadsWhen the Agfacolor
negative/positive process was first marketed, it is believed
that the filter corrections for Agfacolor negatives were aimed,
for best correction, at a zero filtration. That is to say, when
a printer made a first test print he would have exposed that
test print with no filters. He then may have made another test
using a Mosaic filter, chosen according to the colour bias of
the first test. Filtrations higher than 100 (99) were deemed
unlikely.

By the mid-1950s, it was noticeable
to Michael Talbert that filtrations for Agfacolor prints were
generally moving in a Magenta/Cyan direction, the yellow filter
hardly ever being used. Agfacolor CN111 and CH111 papers would
have been in use at this time. John Vickers, author of the book,
Making and Printing Colour Negatives published in
1959, gives filtrations mainly in Magenta and Cyan. In the late
1950s, Kodak Colour Print paper Type C and the later Ektacolor
papers, were balanced for use with Yellow and Magenta filters,
probably due to Kodacolor and Ektacolor negative films all being
of the orange mask variety from the mid-1950s (see Kodak web page).

Agfa introduced their first
orange masked negative film in 1963, being CN17M,
and with it a new printing paper, CN 111M, the latter balanced
for use with masked negatives using, like the equivalent Kodak
papers, Yellow and Magenta filters to correct the colour balance.
By 1964, the paper became known as MCN 111.

Grundzahl
FiguresWhen Agfacolor paper
was manufactured, very slight differences in colour balance occurred
between each batch of paper. As it was impossible to manufacture
batches of Agfacolor paper with exactly the same colour balance
characteristics, each packet or box of paper was stamped on the
base side with a six number filtration figure which aided the
user of the paper when changing the filtration from one batch
of paper to another. These figures were known as Grundzahl
figures.

Example:-If a satisfactory print was made on Agfacolor
paper Batch A at a filtration of 00 70 60.
Paper Batch A runs out so paper Batch B comes into operation.

Lets assume the Grundzahl
figures for paper Batch A were 00 20 30 and that the Grundzahl
figures for paper Batch B were 00 50 50.
First the Grundzahl figures for paper Batch A are
subtracted from the filtration 'correct' filtration, i.e. 00
70 60 minus 00 20 30 = 00 50 30.
Then the Grundzahl figures for paper Batch B are
added to the result, i.e. 00 50 30 + 00 50 50 = 00 100 80 ( say
00 99 80).
The negative which made a good print at 00 70 60 on Batch A should
now make a good print using a filtration of 00 99 80 on Batch
B.

The
Grundzahl figures were always printed with a 00
indicating the filter not required, i.e. 00 20 30 (Batch A) and
00 50 50 (Batch B) in the above example.

The figures were only a guide
and a lot depended on the age of the colour paper and how it
had been stored, so the figures were not always reliable. The
speed of Agfacolor paper didn't vary significantly.

The Grundzahl figures
in the worked example (above) are taken from CH 111 paper.
The Agfacolor CH 111 paper box shown left has the Grundzahl
figures 00 Yellow, 50 Magenta, 50 Cyan.

Packets and boxes of the later
MCN 111 paper were stamped with Yellow and Magenta Grundzahl
figures, with Cyan left as 00, i.e 70 50 00.

Agfacolor Paper Processing

Early
Process ~ 1947Batches of experimental
Agfacolor paper were used for making colour prints as early as
1942.The following is
a very early paper process, dating from 1947.

Colour Development.

Washing.

Stop Bath.

Bleach.

Washing.

Hardening and Fixing Bath.

Washing.

Notes.

It is quite likely that the
working temperature of the baths was around 18°C or 64°F.

White light could be turned
on as soon as the prints were in the Bleaching Bath. Up to this
point, a safelight with an Agfa No. 166 filter could be used.
The 166 filter gave out an olive green light.

The Wash water temperature
was likely to have been from 14°C to 20°C. (57 
68°F)

The Development time for Agfacolor
paper could be varied, 3 minutes giving a softer image. Test
prints and their following final prints had to be given the same
development time as altering the development time would almost
certainly alter the colour of the test print or final print.

Agfacolor Anti-Fading Solution.
Although not essential, it was recommended by Agfa that all prints
were treated in Agfacolor Anti-Fading solution before drying.
As its name suggests, the solution improved the keeping
properties of the Agfacolor prints and prevented, to some extent,
the print dyes from fading. At first the solution was supplied
in bottles of concentrate to be diluted one part of solution
with ten parts cold water. The prints were bathed for 5 minutes
in the diluted solution and then dried without further washing.
The prints could not be dried by heat unless the Agfacolor Anti-Fading
bath was used. The solution contained Formaldehyde, and in later
years, was known as Stabilizer, and by the late 1970s,
Final Bath.
Despite its Anti-Fading properties, early Agfacolor
prints would fade fairly rapidly if displayed in bright sunlight
or strong artificial light. Agfacolor prints would keep best
in a Photo album stored in a cool place.

The Colour Developer had to
stand for 12 hours after mixing.

Some after development
took place in the shadow areas of the print during the First
Wash, (step 2, above).

As late as 1956, Jack H. Coote
mentions the above Agfacolor print process in his book Colour
Prints, first edition, published in April 1956. By then,
Agfa were using a more simplified process for their Agfacolor
paper.

Substitute formulae for processing
Agfacolor paper have been given by R.J. Finn in the British Journal
of Photography Almanac of 1954. The processes are not identical
to the procedures given by Agfa. Finns colour process involves
a Stop-Fixing Bath or a Fixing Bath,
in place of an ordinary stop bath and some of the wash times
are longer. Finn also warns prospective amateur colour printers
about Red Fog, which can occur in (his formula) the Bleaching
bath, hence a long wash up to 15 minutes, before the Bleach.
The third step of his procedure he called a Stop-Bath, but the
formula is one for a Fixing Bath !

Agfacolor
Paper Process from 1954By 1954, print processing
had reached the stage where a combined Bleach and Fixer were
being used in processing Agfacolor Paper. This reduced the number
of chemical baths to four and washes to three, but only reduced
the overall processing time compared to the 1950 sequence by
four minutes.

!954 Processing Sequence for
Agfacolor Paper CN111 and CH111

Solution

Time

Temperature

Total Darkness, or
Agfa Safelight filter No. 166.

Agfacolor
Paper Developer

3
- 6 Minutes

17.5
 18.5°C
(63  65°F)

First
Wash

5
Minutes

Bleaching
Fixing Bath

8
- 15 Minutes

16
- 20°C
(60 - 68°F)

Processing can continue
in White Light.

Second
Wash

20
Minutes

16
- 20°C

Hardening
Bath

5
Minutes

16
- 20°C

Third
Wash

5
Minutes

16
- 20°C

Anti-Fade
Bath

5
Minutes

16
- 20°C

Dry

Total time without
drying: 57 Minutes.

Notes.

The time in the Paper Developer
could be varied , the longer time giving more contrast.

The time of the Bleaching
Fixing Bath was lengthened according to the age and throughput
of the solution. When processing prints in large tanks, regeneration,
or replenishment of the bath was recommended. Exhaustion of the
Bleaching Fixing Bath could be checked by using indicator papers
to measure acidity, a testing rod was provided to
measure the specific gravity of the solution. Bleaching Fixing
Bath Regenerator was used to adjust the degree of acidity, and
standard Bleaching Fixing Bath chemicals were used to replenish
the tank to compensate for chemicals used up in processing.

Wash water temperatures were
57  68°F, or 14  20°C.

The purpose of the Hardening
Bath was to make the emulsion layers of the paper sufficiently
hard to withstand heat drying on rotary glazing machines where
drying temperatures could be as high as 75°C, 170°F.
For extra hardening or for very high drying temperatures Formalin
could be added to the Anti-Fading Bath. Prints were transferred
from the Anti-Fading Bath to the drying drums without further
washing.

Wet test prints could be assessed
in the second wash, after most of the Bleaching Fixing Bath had
been washed off the surface of the print. This took about 2-3minutes.
Therefore a test-strip could be viewed to assess its filtration
after about 20minutes processing time. Agfacolor paper could
be filtered fairly accurately whilst wet, the author has had
experience of doing this. The paper appeared slightly red when
wet, possibly about 10 to 20 Agfa filter units.

A 3% Magnesium Sulphate Bath
was recommended where tap water was very soft or processing had
to be carried out at abnormally high or low temperatures. This
bath followed the Paper Developer. Treatment time was about 3minutes.

Amateur
Processing of AGFACOLOR Print Materials, from 1958Official Agfacolor
chemicals and printing materials had been available in the UK
since 1952, but were not sold to amateur photographers unless
they had attended a course of instruction at the Agfacolor School
(see above, International School
of Colour Photography).

In 1958, the processing and
printing of Agfacolor materials had become straightforward and
reliable enough for Agfa to release the chemicals for processing
the negative and positive materials plus Agfacolor paper for
sale to the general public without the need for attendance at
an approved Agfacolor School. Packs of 1 litre chemicals for
processing Agfacolor negative material and Agfacolor paper, plus
various sizes and quantities of Agfacolor paper became available
for sale to the Amateur photographer.

Amateur
Colour Negative Printing
A set of 24 gelatine colour printing filters were available to
the amateur photographer who wished to enable his black and white
enlarger to be used for making colour prints. As the filters
were made of thick plastic, they were not recommended for use
below the enlarger lens. The complete set of filters were known
as :- Ac.Fi. Fo Satz. (Agfacolor Filter Foils Set) The filters
were also sold individually.

A set of filters consisted
of Yellow, Magenta and Cyan in seven densities from 5 to 99 (100)
in each colour. There were two 99 filters of each
colour, ensuring that heavy colour casts could be corrected in
the printing operation.

Later sets of filters were
supplied with a small Agfacolor print and the negative of this
print. The negative was printed onto Agfacolor paper and the
print was filtered to match, as near as possible, to the print
enclosed with the filter set. In this way it was possible to
ensure that processing was satisfactory with regards to colour
balance and contrast. Any errors in exposing and processing,
which might have gone un-noticed, would show and could be corrected.

The set of 24 filters, size
7 cms. square, were intended to be used in a filter draw below
the condensers of a black and white enlarger. If the enlarger
had no filter draw, it was possible, ialbeit somewhat inconvenient,
to make a mask out of black cardboard, balance the mask on top
of the condensers, and then place the filters on top of the mask.
This method could be used for the occasional printing session,
but it was far better in the long run to obtain an enlarger with
a filter draw.

Voltage
Fluctuations
Because it was known that the mains voltage could fluctuate enough
to upset the colour balance of consecutively exposed test strips
and prints, an automatic voltage stabilizer was considered an
essential piece of equipment. At the very least, a hand operated
voltage resistance regulator with voltmeter, which could be set
to the required voltage just before exposing a print, saved paper
wastage and the frustration of not knowing why certain prints
were off balance when all the other conditions of
printing were deemed correct.

The first edition was published
in German, in 1958, but it was later published in English, and
ran to two more editions before being completely re-written and
up-dated and published as Agfacolor User Processing,
in 1972.

The first 1958 German edition
gave very comprehensive instructions on how to process Agfacolor
negative film and how to make prints on Agfacolor paper. Included
in the book were tables for negative and print processing sequences,
and filter factor charts, as well as a colour balance comparison
chart of one neutrally filtered print surrounded by six off
colour prints, each varying by 50 units of cyan, magenta,
yellow, red, green and blue.

At the back of the book there
were five tear-out processing data and filter factor
tables for mounting onto cardboard and hanging up in the darkroom
for instant reference.

Printed on the last page of
the manual were lists of Agfacolor films, Agfacolor papers, chemicals
and filters which were available for sale to the amateur photographer.

A complete set of chemicals,
suitable for making up 1 litre quantity of each of the four print
processing solutions, was available for sale to amateur photographers.
The collective name for the set was: Pa/Satz. The processing
solutions were Developer, Stop-fix, Bleach-Fix and Anti-Fade
bath. Each solution was made up from powders to be mixed with
water, but the Anti-Fade bath required the addition of Formalin
which had to be obtained separately. The chemicals were also
sold as individual units.

Processing
Sequence for Agfacolor Papers CN 111 and CH 111 ~ 1958
This processing sequence is given in the first edition of the
Agfacolor Manual, published in 1958, for the processsing
set Pa/Satz

Bath

Code

Time (Mins)

Tempratuure °C

Total darkness
or Agfa safelight Filter No.166

1. Agfacolor Paper
Developer

Pa1/A

8

19.5  20.5
(67 - 69°F)

2. Quick Wash

---

10  20 Seconds

---

3. Stop-Fixing
bath

Pa11/A

3

18  20
(64  68°F)

In white light

4. Wash

---

5

---

5. Bleach-Fix

PPa111/A

8

18  20
(64  68°F)

6. Wash

PaV1/A

20

18  20
(64  68°F)

7. Anti-fade bath

5

18  20
(64  68°F)

Alternatively,
if prints were to be heat dried on a glazing machine, prints
were immersed for 5mins in a Hardening bath (see notes below),
followed by a further 5min wash and then treatment in the Anti-fade
bath.
Prints went directly from the Antifade bath to the heated
drying machine or to ambient air drying without further washing.

Drying

Total time without drying:-
49½ minutes.

Notes.

Prints could be processed
in White Light after only 11½ minutes of working
under a safelight or in total darkness.

The wash water temperature
was: 14  20°C, 57  68°F

For Heat drying on a glazing
machine, or where drying difficulties were encountered due to
ambient high temperatures, an extra Hardening bath was recommended.
The processing set Pa/Satz did not include the Hardening bath
chemicals, but these could be obtained separately, as PaV/A.
The Hardening bath was used after the third wash, step 6 above,
for 5 minutes, followed by a wash of 5 minutes. Prints were
then treated in the Antifade bath before drying.

The Agfa Hardening bath chemicals
were trade named PaV/A. But a suitable hardening bath could be
made up to the formula:-
Start with 750ml of water; Add 15 grams of M23 (M23 was Agfas
trade code for a water softening agent, like Calgon);
Add 50 grams of Sodium Carbonate (anhydrous); Add 50 ml of 40%
strength Formalim; Add water to make 1 Litre.

Test strips could be assessed
in the third wash whilst wet.

After mixing, the paper developer
Pa1/A, had to stand for 12 hours before use.

An addition to this sequence
was the Stop-Fixing bath. The purpose of this bath was to stop
development and fix the print enough so that further processing
could take place in white light. The bath also prevented
staining and improved the white border areas of the print.

This processing sequence could
be used as an alternative to the 1954 print process (see
above).

Agfacolor
Paper Processing 1960-1961By 1960 an improved
colour print developer was in use in a slightly longer processing
sequence for Agfacolor papers compared with the previous procedure
(see above). The new colour developer, code named Pa1/60,
was said to be non-irritating to the skin, and gave sharper images
and more brilliant colours than the old Pa1/A developer.

This is a processing sequence
from 1961, incorporating the new developer, suitable for the
Agfacolor papers CN 111 and CH 111.

The additional bath, the Buffer
Bath, increased the acidity of the paper print. The Hardening
Bath was heavily alkaline, and the Buffer solution adjusted the
pH value of the paper to a more normal level. The bath also increased
the density of the Cyan dye image, which had been partially reduced
in the Bleach-Fix solution, and improved the general keeping
qualities of the print.

As in the previous sequence,
the Hardening Bath could be made up to the
formula above.

If necessary, formalin could
be added to the last bath when heat-drying on a glazing machine
if temperature of the machine exceeded 212°F. However, it
was not recommended to exceed 212°F when drying prints.

The second wash time was now
halved.

Wash water temperature was
57  68°F.

Like the previous colour print
developer, the new Pa1/60 developer had to stand for 12 hours
after being mixed.

It was possible to process
Agfacolor paper by a slightly different procedure involving another
processing solution.

Processing
Agfacolor Paper with an additional StopFix SolutionAs the processing procedure
stands, it demands that the first two operations necessitate
a strict temperature control of +/-1°F. If difficulties were
encountered with maintaining the temperature of the wash water
within the +/-1°F limit, it was possible to process the prints
using a Stop-Fix Bath within a Modified Processing Procedure
including the additional StopFix Solution.

Bath

Code

Time (Mins)

Tempratuure °C

Total darkness
or Agfa safelight Filter No.166

1. Colour Developer

Pa1/60

7

68 +/- 1°F

2. Quick Rinse

---

10 seconds

---

3. Stop-Fix

Pp11

3

64  68°F

In white light

4. Wash

---

5

---

5. Bleach-Fix

Ppa111

8

64  68°F

6. Wash

---

10

---

7. Hardening Bath

Pa111/60

5

64  68°F

8. Wash

---

5

---

9. Buffer Bath

Pa1V

5

64  68°F

10. Wash

---

5

---

11. Anti-Fade

PaV1

5

64  68°F

10. Dry, not higher
than 212°F on rotary glazing machines

Notes:-

The StopFix terminated
development immediately and partially fixed the print so that
processing could be carried out in White Light after
only 10 minutes.

The Quick Rinse
was carried out in a large dish of water with vigorous agitation
for not longer than 10 seconds. This rinse removed most of the
developer from the surfaces of the print. The rinse treatment
was essential to prevent too much developer being carried forward
into the StopFix solution. The temperature of the rinse
water was not important, but the water had to be changed frequently.

Some processing procedures
give 5 minutes development time when using a StopFix solution,
others give 7 minutes.

As with previous procedures,
wet viewing to assess print colour filtration was possible after
the Hardening Bath.

Wash Water & Quick Rinse
temperature was 57-68°F

The StopFix solution
was the same as used to process Agfacolor Positive Film S. It
was also code named PPa11

The
Agfacolor Pa Process for CN 111 and CH 111 papers ~ 1961Further changes to
the Agfacolor print process took place in 1961, when a shortened
version of the six bath process was reduced to four baths. It
was presumably based on the 1958 procedure with reduced processing
times and one wash left out. The new procedure was variously
known as:

Processing
Sequence K, or Short Process or the Agfacolor Pa 68°F process
(introduced in 1961)

Bath

Code

Time (Minutes)

Temperature

Capacity of 10x8inch
prints per litre

Total Darkness,
or Agfacolor Safelight Filter No. 166 (Olive Green)

1. Agfacolor Paper
Developer

Pa1/60

5

68 +/- 1°F

10

2. Wash

-

2½

57  68°F

-

3. Stop-Fix

PPaII/K
(see label, below)

5

64  68°F

29

Remaining steps
can be done in normal room lighting

4. Bleach-Fix

PPaIII/K

5

64  68°F

29

5. Wash

-

10

57  68°F

-

6. Stabilizer

PaVI/S

2½

64  68°F

29

Drying

Not above 212°F

Notes.

The temperature of the Developer
had to be kept at 67  69°F for the entire length of
development for consistant results.

The processing chemicals could
be purchased separately or as a complete kit to make up 1 litre
of each solution. The complete kit for 1 litre was known as Pa Kit / K.
All were powder chemicals to be dissolved in water. The developer
consisted of three separate powder components to be dissolved
in water to make 1 litre. The Stop-Fix and Bleach-Fix consisted
of two powder components each. The Stabilizer had one powder
component plus it was necessary to add 80ccs per litre of Formalin
(formaldehyde strength at 30%) once the powder component had
dissolved. The Pa Kit / K was designed for sale
to amateur photographers, who would dish process
their colour prints. The processing chemicals were also available
for sale to make up much larger volumes of working solutions.
Agfa did not include any Formalin with the kit, nor did they
supply it with the larger sizes of Stabilizer chemicals.

The Pa1/60 developer, once
made up, had to stand for 12 hours before use. The other solutions
could be used immediately.

Prints were dried directly
after the Stabilizer step without further washing. Prints also
went from the Stop-Fix to the Bleach-Fix without washing.

When heat drying on glazing
drums, or on flat-bed dryers, the dryers gave off unpleasant
formaldehyde fumes due to the presence of the formalin which
had soaked into the colour prints from the Stabilizer. In large
colour printing laboratories, extraction fans were normally fitted
above the dryers.

Agfacolor CN111 and CH111
papers could also be processed uaing a longer processing sequence
consisting of 5 (or 6) baths taking about 53 minutes total processing
time. This was convenient if it was not possible to arrange extraction
fans over the drying equipment. The Stabilizer used in the longer
processing sequence did not contain any formaldehyde. For the
amateur processing prints at home, the print dryer could be placed
near an open window if the formalin fumes were objectionable.

It was possible to leave out
the first wash, (step 2), if there was no running water in the
darkroom or, in a large colour processing laboratory, if there
was no way of fitting a wash tank after the colour developer
tank in the print processing machine. In the case of dish processing,
the prints were drained thoroughly after the colour developer
before placing them in the Stop-Fix. In the second case, some
means of wiping the developer off the paper had to be arranged
after leaving the developer tank before the prints entered the
Stop-Fix tank to prevent too much developer from contaminating
the Stop-Fix bath. With dish processing, the Stop-Fix had a much
lower print processing capacity, and the bath had to be replaced
more frequently. When dealing with larger volumes of solution,
where all the baths were replenished, glacial acetic acid could
be added to the Stop-Fix replenisher, (RPPa II/K) to compensate
for the lower working capacity of the Stop-Fix.

For consistant results of
the highest quality, it was best to keep the temperature of the
first wash water (Step 2) to within 1°F, within the range
of 57  68°F.

It has been noted that some
publications, e.g. books on colour printing and various articles
dealing with Agfacolor printing, that 2½ - 5minutes is
sometimes stated for the time in the Stabilizer.

The earlier packets of Stabilizer
to make up 1 litre of solution were labeled Agfacolor Anti-Fading
Medium and may have had a code of PA.VI/A

By 1975 the Agfacolor print
processing chemistry had changed to a three/four bath arrangement
for their new resin coated paper, much the same as Ektaprint
3.

A label from a box
of Agfacolor Stop-Fixing Bath, PPa II/K

To make 2 x 25 litres of working
solution. The box contained two powder components marked A and
B. These were to be dissolved in 20 litres of water at about
104F. (A first, then B). When dissolved, enough water was added
to make up to 25 litres of working solution. It was likely that
this amount of solution would have been used in a continuous
processing machine, and the chemical baths would have been replenished.
This Stop-Fixing bath was intended for use with the Agfacolor
Pa Process. The box dates from 1971.

Two
Agfacolor Manuals

The left hand Manual is dated
October 1968. This is the third edition, containing much the
same information on processing and printing as the first German
edition, but now printed in English. Mainly written for the amateur
photographer who processed his prints in dishes using the Pa
process, it contains a section on processing Agfacolor CN 17
and CNS films. The printing section includes information on printing
and processing Agfacolor CNIII and MCNIII papers.

The second edition, printed
in English, with a similar cover, is dated October 1963

On the right hand side is the
then new Agfacolor User Processing book. This was
an improved version of the Agfacolor Manual contained
many color photographs, tables and diagrams, together with much
more detailed information on filtering colour prints. There is
also a complete section on processing and printing faults, for
film and paper, with photographs and descriptions of defective
negatives and prints, but also showing the corrected version.
This is the first edition, published in 1972.

To download a pdf of the Agfacolor
User Processing manual, first edition, 1972, click
here.

Warm
Process" for Agfacolor papers ~ 1966A high temperature
processing procedure for processing Agfacolor MCN III and CN
III papers was introduced in 1966. The temperature of the developer
was raised to 77°F, 25°C , giving a development time
of 3½minutes. This procedure was known as the warm
process.

The temperature of the washes
varied according to the instruction sheets and other literature.
The instruction sheets packed with Agfacolor MCN III Type 7 paper
(from 1968, see below) give a processing table similar to the
above but the wash temperature varied.
In Step 2; Wash for 1¾ minutes at 20 +/ 5°C
(57  77°F approx.)
In Step 5; Wash for 5¼ minutes at 20 +/ 5°C
(57  77°F approx.)
The times given were more likely to apply to the higher end of
the temperature range, If the temperature of the water in the
first wash was at 25°C, 77°F, the wash time should be
reduced to 45 seconds.
The Stop Fix time of 1¾ minutes would have been more effective
at a temperature range of 23  25°C; 73  77°F.
The Stabilizer would work over a wide range of temperatures as
the Formalin in the Stabilizer only took effect on the hot drying
drums and not when the print was in the Stabilizer dish or tank.

Some Agfacolor instruction
sheets give 3 minutes for the development time at 25°C, 77°F,
and state that if the first wash is omitted, the development
time must be increased to 3½ minutes.
MCN III Type 7 paper could be handled for no more than 2 minutes
under direct safelighting using the safelight filters given at
the top of the table
As the older MCN III paper was slower in speed than the
Type 7 paper, it could be handled for a slightly longer time
under direct safelighting.

For Agfacolor CN III
paper a 166 or 09 safe light filter was recommended. By 1966
Agfacolor CH III paper had been withdrawn.

By the early 1970s, the colour
developer Pa 1/60 could be used immediately after mixing,
instead of the previous 12 hour wait recommended in the
mixing instructions.

Apart from the developer and
the first wash, all the processing times could be increased slightly
without any detrimental effect on print quality.

The above procedure was the
fastest colour print processing time in the world for wide rolls
of colour print paper until Kodak
Ektaprint 3 made its appearance in 1971.

The Stabilizer required 60ccs
per litre of Formalin (40% strength solution) to be added to
it. to make the working strength solution.

Warm
process at 25°C for dish processing MCN III and CN III papers
~ October 1968From 3rd edition of
the Agfacolor Manual, October 1968.
By this time Agfacolor CH III paper had been withdrawn and the
then, new, Agfacolor MCN III Type 7 paper was only available
in rolls for photofinishers and so was not mentioned in the manual.
The Agfacolor Manuals for colour negative and print processing
were mainly aimed at amateur photographers who processed their
prints in dishes.

It is likely that the final
wash is too short. The 6 minutes given would apply better to
a temperature of at least 23°C, 73°F. The same would
apply to the first wash, but this step is less critical.

Like the previous (1966) 'warm'
sequence, the Stop Fix, Bleach Fix, Wash, and Stabilizer times
could be increased slightly without any detrimental effects on
print quality.

Agfacolor
Pa 77°F processTaken from Photographic
Lab. Handbook by John S. Carroll, published in 1979; 5th
edition.
John Carroll's book was first published in 1970, but Mr. Carroll
doesn't seem to have updated the contents for the 1979 edition.
He doesn't mention Type 7 paper (see below), so its thought he
wrote this sequence for the old MCN III paper, pre-1969.

Dish
Processing Agfacolor Paper using Pa Chemicals
In 1973, the author was working as a studio assistant + black
and white printer + colour printer for an industrial photographer.
At that time, the author was making colour prints on Agfacolor
paper MCN111 Type 7 and processing them through the Pa process
in dishes. This gives a rough idea of how the author processed
Agfacolor prints in those days.

The developer was used at a
temperature of about 68°F. The dish was placed on a dish
heater with a thermostat which usually kept the temperature within
the +/-1°F range, although the actual working temperature
might have been higher (in summer), or lower (in winter), than
68°F. All other solutions were used at room temperature.
In winter the solution temperature could be as low as 57°F
(apart from the developer heated by the dish heater).

The prints were processed in
the darkroom up to the Stop-Fix stage, and then taken out of
the darkroom where the Bleach-Fix and Stabilizer dishes were
placed next to a 20x24inch washing dish. Test strips were processed
up to the Bleach-Fix stage, rinsed in water for about a minute,
wiped down to get as much water off them as possible, and then
assessed for colour balance and density. Note that Agfacolor
Paper MCN 111 Type 7 was not Resin coated, or PE,
therefore the test strips were still wet when assessed.

The times in the processing
solutions were kept as close as possible to the Agfacolor Pa
sequence times, but the first wash was a quick rinse (about ½minute)
in a large dish of water. The water was changed frequently as
it rapidly turned brown with developer chemicals. The author
also remembers that the Bleach-Fix time was increased to maybe
8 or 9minutes in winter because it took so long to act when its
temperature was well below 68°F !

Despite this rather crude method
of working, the author remembers turning out some very acceptable
colour prints. This all goes to show that the Agfacolor paper
and chemicals must have had an enormous processing latitude.
In winter, the processing solutions were often far too cold,
and the author is sure that the Stop-Fix was over worked on several
occasions due to the primitive way of washing the prints after
the colour developer. However

The author does have one surviving
8x10inch print from those days, printed in 1973. Almost all prints
he made were 8x10inch or smaller. He thinks he might have made
a 10x12inch print on very rare occasions, but certainly no larger
than that size.

The 8x10inch print still owned
by the author has been dark stored for the past 39years. It is
difficult to detect any sign of real fading as the picture is
of a garden taken in evening sunlight. The print has a yellow
colour cast but it is impossible to tell if the cast is due to
fading or the print was that colour in the first place, though
it does seem that the white borders of the print have turned
very slightly yellow.

Another print, printed on Agfacolor
paper MCN111 Type 7 in 1972, shows that all of the colours
have faded, which has made the print look slightly softer in
contrast. The borders have turned definitely yellow, and the
print has a slight yellow cast. This print was made at a colour
laboratory, not under the dish processing arrangements mentioned
above, and was processed by the Pa procedure, and then dark stored
for the past 40years.

Agfa
Process 85 for Agfa 310 Type 4 and Type 5 Colour PapersThe last reference
Michael has managed to find to the chemicals used for Type 4
paper is the composition and procedure published within the British
Journal Photographic Almanac (BJPA) of 1985. By that time Agfa
were producing their Type 6 and Type 7 papers, which were compatible
with the (by then) universal Kodak EP-2 (Ektaprint) process.

The Agfa formulae as printed in the BJPA for 1985, and also the
processing sequence at 35°C, are given below.

Note, however, that the instructions
that accompanied Agfa's own Process 85 processing kits,
gave a range of processing temperatures, from 20°C, through
25°C and 30°C, to 42°C, with a warning that "At
42°C, high consisatency of temperature is vital and a pre-soak
of 1minute is essential". Nonetheless, despite suggesting
a 35°C processing temperature, the BJPA for 1985 says their
formulae are as specified by Agfa.
In the Agfa Processing Manual for 1977, there are
colour development times for 30°C (3minutes) and 42°C
(1¾minutes). Hence, Michael suggests that the colour development
time of 2minutes at 35°C would be close to the (nominally)
correct time. Also it was best to give less processing time in
a drum with continuous agitation, than with dishes with intermittent
agitation.

These are the chemicals required
to make 1 litre of Process 85 Colour Developer.

However, if you wash the paper for at least 3 minutes in running
water you can omit the Stabilizer bath.

Stop-Bath
Use a 2% Acetic Acid solution.

Processing
SequenceUsing a Small Rotary
Drum processor at 35°C. The sequence should also work for
dish processing.

1. Pre Heat

1 minute

2. Developer

2 minutes

3. Stop Bath

½ minute

4. Rinse

½ minute

5. BleachFix

1½ minutes

6. Wash

1½ minutes
or longer (see above)

7. Stabilizer
(optional)

½ minute

8. Rapid Rinse
(optional)

5 seconds

Dry at a temperature
not exceeding 90°C

Keep the Developer temperature at + or  ½ degree
C but the other solutions and washes can vary + or  2 degree
C either way without making any difference to the end result.

FOOTNOTES

Michael
Talbertstarted making colour prints in 1969,
using Kodak Ektacolor Commercial paper. He was a photographic
colour printer in the 1970s, printing colour negatives mainly
onto Agfacolor paper. He also had experience using about 10 types
of Kodak paper, plus other makes, Gevacolor, Fuji, Paterson,
Konica.

Michael now sets up and takes
Retro fashion pictures, but prints them digitally.

UFA, Universum Film AG, (originally
Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft):The following is taken
from Wikipedia:
Universum Film AG, (originally Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft)
better known as UFA or Ufa, was the principal film studio in
Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic
and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from
1917 to 1945. After World War II, UFA continued producing movies
and television programmes to the present day, making it the longest
standing film company in Germany.

Wolfen and ORWO:
Agfa were making colour motion picture film, negative and positive,
possibly since 1939 at their plant at Wolfen. Much later,
when the film was marketed, it was labeled Veb Filmfabrik
Agfa Wolfen. Deutsche Demokratische Republik. In the late
1940s, Agfacolor films Type T and type K were also being manufactured
at their West German factory at Leverkusen. By 1956, the Leverkusen
factory were making the, then, new Agfacolor CN17 Universal colour
negative film, (40 ASA(ISO)) designed for use in Daylight and
Artificial light. At that time, CN17 film was only made at Leverkusen,
the East German Agfa factory continued to make type T and
type K films independently. As from 1956, the East German
films were re-named, Agfacolor Ultra  negative films,
with an increase in speed from 12 ASA(ISO) to 32 ASA for both
types.

As far as Michael Talbert can
ascertain, Agfacolor paper was only made at Leverkusen, possibly
from the end of WWII, and then marketed in Europe from 1949.

Alongside is shown a box of
Agfacolor Ultra K Negative sheet film, manufactured in 1963
in East Germany by Agfa at Wolfen.

This film is balanced for Tungsten
light exposure at a speed of 40 ASA (ISO). It has an expiry
date of April 1964.

From 1964 onwards, products
made at the East German Wolfen factory were labeled ORWO, (Original
Wolfen), and this film became known as Orwocolor Negative,
NK 17 The equivalent Daylight type film was known
as:
Pre-1964: Agfacolor Ultra T,
Post-1964: Orwocolor NT 17.

The Wolfen plant continued
to manufacture negative film branded with an Agfa
label until 1964, from then on the film was branded ORWO.
ORWO
stands for Original Wolfen, and by the mid 1960s as many as five different
types of negative film, plus three transparency films, were manufactured
at Wolfen.

ORWOCHROM UT18 (50ASA) slide
film is illustrated in the advertisement shown to the left (from
Photography magazine, April 1973). It was available in 120 roll
film and 36 exposure 35mm cassettes. The 35mm film was available
at the time of the advertisement at a special introductory price
"around thirty bob" (£1.50p) for 36 processed
transparencies returned in white plastic frames ("which
you can easily mark or write on").

Agfa and Gevaert joined forces
in July 1964. Both these companies continued to make colour film
and colour printing paper with their own brand labeling for a
year or two after 1964, but by the late 1960s film and paper
products were labeled Agfa-Gevaert.

Gevaert was a large
Belgian photographic material manufacturing company founded by
Lieven Gevaert in 1894. The companys plant at Mortsel made
colour film and colour printing paper as from the early nineteen
fifties, initially mainly for D&P laboratories. The company
started marketing their colour film and colour printing paper
in the UK in 1953, with the sizes of prints and prices being
similar to Agfacolor at that time.

Agfachrome
Agfacolor
CT18:Taken from Amateur
Photographer magazine for 23rd November 2013. "....Agfa
CT18 requires a process unlike any other, and the relevant AP-41
process was discontinued by Agfa in the early 1980s..."

Agfachrome (reversal) Process 41 (and others)
compatibility with Kodak and other filmsThe Agfa Process 41
is not compatible with any of the Kodak range of E6 (reversal)
films. Process 41 was for Agfachrome 50S and 50L, CT-18, CT-21,
CK-20, and the Agfa duplicating film, Duplichrome
D-13 (see above)
Agfachrome 200 film, introduced about 1981, was processed in
Agfa Process 44, which was Agfas version of Kodak E6. Process
44 was for Agfachrome 50RS, 100RS, 200RS, and 1000RS films plus
any later Agfa reversal films.

Its possible that Orwo
UT-18 could be processed in the Agfachrome Process 41 chemicals
as the processes were similar. Orwo reversal processing is described
in the British Journal of Photography Annuals from the mid-70s
to 1985.

Fujichrome films, before 1979,
were processed in a similar way to Kodak E4, and the processing
procedure reproduced in the British Journal Annuals for Fujichrome
is almost identical to Kodak process E2. After 1978, Fuji introduced
new films to be processed in Fuji process CR-56, which was their
equivalent to Kodak E6. Process E4 was a high temperature
E2 process, so pre-1979 Fuji films could be processed successfully
in E2.

By the mid-1980s, almost all
colour reversal films were processed in E6, or an equivalent
process with another manufacturer's name or number. Weird makes
of Russian films were still using processes similar to E2, or
old Agfa reversal processes, as was Perutz, a manufacturer which
is thought never made a film compatible with E6.

To read about the Kodak E2,
E4 and E6 reversal (transparency) processes, see the left hand
index on the Ektachrome web page click
here.